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SABRE AND BAYONET 

STORIES OF HEROISM AND HILITARY 

ADVENTURE: COLLECTED 

AND EDITED 



BY 

THEO. F. RODEN BOUGH 

BREVET BRIGADIER-GENERAL U. S. A. 



ILLUSTRATED 



[ 



^ 



NEW YORK: 
G. W. Dillingham Co., Publishers, 

MDCCCXCVIL 




TWO COPIES RECEIVED 



Copyright 1886, by 
G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS. 



Copyright 1891, 1893, by 
G. W. DILLINGHAM. 



Copyright 1897, by 
G. W. DILLINGHAM CO. 



Sabre and Bayotiet. 



TO 

THE MEMORY OF 

CHARLES Mcknight leoser, 

COMRADE AND FRIEND, 

THIS BOOK IS 

INSCRIBED. 



PREFACE, 



^^OME of these stories have been published before, 
^-^ and theii- reception has encouraged the publishers 
to issue an edition comprising new material in a new and 
improved dress. The *' Romance of the Opequan " 
gives the actual experiences of an officer of the army at 
the battle of Winchester, Va., September 19, 1864; the 
names, only, of the officers mentioned being fictitious. 
The frontispiece is after a picture by Th. de Thulstrup^ 
and truthfully portrays the event described on page 27 
of this book. 



CONTENTS. 



An Opequan Romance 
A Minnesota's Boy's First Battle 
Sergeant-Major Hincks' Exploit 
The Salient at vSpcttsylvania 
The Victors and the Spoils 
Three Thinking Bayonets 
With the Colors in War Time 
Plucking Victory from Defeat 
" Mad Clear Through " 
At the Cannon's Mouth 
The Path of Duty, the Road to Glory 
A Hero of Antietam 
Two Kinds of Courage 
A Lincoln Cavalryman .. 
Foiling an Assassin 
A Beau Sabreur 
"Red Cloud's" Baptism of Fire 
Trailing the Apaches 
A Spartan Band 
The Soldier-Scout's Story 
Little Wolf and White Hat 
Regulars of the Old School 
*' Chum " — A Meritorious Camp Follower 
6 



Page 
II 
35 
55 
6i 

85 
103 
117 
147 
152 
167 
171 

185 
192 

198 

215 
229 

245 
255 
282 

307 
326 

332 
360 



ILLUSTRATIONS, 



FULL PAGES. 



The Charge at the Opequan 

Fighting the Battle o'er again 

" Come and Take it " . 

Sergeant-Major Hincks at Gettysburg 

Corporal Weeks and his Corps Commander 

Battle Relics 

Corporal Anderson's Brevet 

Sergeant Munsell's Flag 

Ginley's Last Shot 

Forrest Attacks the Train 

At the Cannon's Mouth 

Assault on Fort Sanders 

Marching to Gettysburg 

Sergeant Robinson's Gold Medal 

Confederate Colors and Captors 

Fort Phil Kearney 

'* A Friend Indeed" 

A Certificate of Merit 

Scout Chapman's Heroism 

Our Cavalry in Winter 



Page 
Frontispiece 

lO 

34 

56 

60 

%(> 

102 

116 

148 

161 

166 

170 

191 

214 

228 

244 

254 
272 
281 
30^ 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



FOR TRAITS. 



Sergeant Merritt 
Major Hincks . . 
Corporal Weeks . 
Lieut. Fasnacht . 
Lieut. Gere . . . 
Private Dunlavy 
Corporal Monaghan 
Captain Anderson 
Capt. Munsell 117, 
Sergeant Cook . . 
Major Terry . . 
Lieut. Benjamin 
Captain Greig . . 
Sergeant Robinson 



Page Page 

35 Payne, the Assassin . .221 

55 Col. Tom Custwr . . 

61 Rain-in-the-Face . . 

66 Red Cloud .... 

85 Lieut. -Col. Powell . 

97 Captain King . . . 

103 Sergeant Nihill . . 

Ill Sergeant Harrington 

T,Tf, 145 Private Evans . . . 

152 Little Wolf and Captor 

167 Col. Beall . . . 

171 General Harney . 

185 Colonel May . . 

215 Sergeant Fegan . 



229 

238 

245 
247 

255 
271 

282 
307 
325 
332 
339 
343 
351 



MISCELLANEO US, 



Page 
Candle and Serpent . . 53 
Sheridan's Cav'ry Badge 54 
The Dietrich Farm . . 59 
Where Pickett Halted 59 
Relieving Wounded . 59 
The Wilderness ... 84 
Ancient Artillery . .115 
Monument— 99TH P. V. . 131 
Battle-flag — 99TH P. V. 146 
Leading the Troops . . 165 
After the Battle . . 169 
At Close Quarters . .184 
Fort McHenry, 1814 . 190 



Victory 

The Happy Omen . . 
Medal of Honor . . 
Music on the Frontier 
x\ Musketeer . . . 
The Heliograph . . 
Adjutant's Office 
Company Kitchen . . 
The Courier . . . 
A Pack-Mule . . . 

Resting 

"Chum" 



Page 
. 190 

• 225 
. 226 

• 243 

• 253 
. 257 
. 270 

• 277 

• 324 

• T^Z-^ 

• 359 

• 3^^ 



t 



PART FIRST. 
1861-1865. 

•My heart is fretting like a tethered steed's 
To join the heroes in their noble deeds. 
A noise of armies gathers in my ears : 
The Southern yells, the Northern battle-cheers; 
The endless volleys, ceaseless ac the roar 
Of the vexed ocean, brawling with its shore ; 
The groaning cannon, puffing at a breath 
Man's shreds and fragments through the jaws of death ; 
The rush of horses, and the whirring sway 
Of the keen sabre cleaving soul from clay; 
And over all, intelligible and clear 
As spoken language to a listening ear, 
The bugle orders the tumultuous herds, 
And leads the flocks of battle with its words." 




FIGHTING THE BATTLE O'ER AGAIN. 



IQ 



AN OPEQUAN ROMANCE. 

JT was the clay after the wedding. The young couple 
had departed to the usual accompaniment of rice, 
old slippers, and good wishes to pass the honeymoon on 
the great lakes and eventually to make a nest for them- 
selves in a northern city. He was a young civil engi- 
neer, a Pennsylvanian by birth ; she, a daughter of the 
Old Dominion. 

Two years before, while engaged at work upon a line 
of railway connecting a famous summer resort with the 
city of Norfolk, James Redbrook had met his fate in the 
person of a lovely girl, who appeared one day on the 
back of a frightened pony, with the bit between its teeth, 
making directly toward the edge of a bluff, above a deep 
and rocky ravine, a short distance awa}'. It was but, 
the work of a second for the young man to jump upon 
the back of his own mare, from which he had, fortunately, 
but just dismounted, and dash in pursuit. The pony 
had the start but the mare was more fleet. Just as the 
runawa}^ neared the precipice he swerved a little, ena- 
bling Redbrook to dash alongside ^nc} lift the almost un- 



12 AN OPEQ UA N ROMA NC E. 

conscious girl from her saddle, as the pony tumbled 
head over heels into the ravine. 

Just then an agitated old gentleman mounted upon a 
gray horse, limping badly, appeared upon the scene ; in 
a moment he was out of the saddle and bending over 
the young woman, while Redbrook hastened to bring 
some water from the "■ branch " in the metal cup of his 
pocket-flask. The maiden was soon relieved and with 
her father — as the new comer proved to be — warmly ex- 
pressed their gratitude to her preserver for his prompt 
and gallant service. They were visitors at the '* Prin- 
cess Anne " as the great hostelry was called, and it is 
needless to say that Redbrook began, from that time, to 
take a deep interest in the personality of his new ac- 
quaintances. 

Major Thornton was a well-preserved relic of the 
Southern Confederacy, for which he had fought and 
bled until Appomattox made it a lost cause ; then, hang- 
ing up on the wall his trusty sword and reverently 
drawing a veil over the past, Thornton took his place 
in the ranks of those comrades who began a struggle for 
bread and butter. He was then but twenty-seven years 
of age, full of health and strength. Being popular he 
served his constituents in Congress for a term ; event- 
ually becoming identified with the development of his 
section, and at the time of our story (1890) was reputed 
** well off." Although a widower he ^ad a charming 
daughter to comfort him. 

The young engineer became a devoted worshiper at 
the shrine of Mistress Betty Thornton, and after two 



A N OPEQ UAN ROMANCE. I ^ 

years' siege, the fortress capitulated. During this tiinc 
the families of the two principals had exchanged visits. 

In General Red brook, a retired officer of tlie army. 
Major Thornton found a congenial spirit. Although they 
had fought on opposite sides, they were simply two old 
soldiers of kindred tastes, fond of '' fighting their battles 
o'er again," and burning much incense of the weed to 
the memories of the Great War ; and so it was but nat- 
ural that the newly allied parents should hob-nob more 
cordially than ever, and that the General should accept, 
with pleasure, the Major's urgent appeal to remain at 
the Virginia homestead a few days longer. 

** The Cedars " was a fine specimen of the so-called 
"Colonial style," still to be found in New England and 
Virginia; an imposing mansion planted originally in the 
midst of a grove of cedars, of which but four or five grim 
old sentinels had escaped the ravages of war and camp-fire. 
Under its roof-tree several generations of Thorntons had 
been brought into the world, and much generous hospi- 
tality had been dispensed. 

The Major and his guest sat, stretching their legs un- 
der the shining mahogany, after a dinner upon which 
Aunt Chloe had lavished her best efforts. " Old George," 
the sable butler had, with due solemnity, arranged the 
" materials " for a proper communion of martial souls; 
two heavy decanters, one of the wine of the country — 
" Maryland Club," the other of the famous Madeira 
brought over, long before, by the Major's grandfather, 
Commodore Thornton, and onl)^ produced on state occa- 
sions : also, cigars, pipes, and killikinnick. After seeing 



14 AN' OPEQ UAN ROMANCE. 

that all things were in order, the glasses filled, and the 
warriors puffing contentedly, the old servant quietly 
withdrew. 

General Redbrook broke the silence. 

*' Major, you served in the cavalry, did you not?" 

"Yes, I began with Stuart on the Chickahominy in '62, 
and wound up with Fitz Lee in '65." 

" Ah, then you were one of the famous raiders who 
followed the gallant *' Jeb," when he galloped around 
McClellan's army, on a certain June day in the second 
year of the war. That was a wholesome lesson you 
taught us." 

" Well, you certainly learned your lesson well ; for the 
next year you rather turned the tables on us at Beverly 
Ford (or Brandy Station as we say), and after that, our re- 
spect, if not our love, for the Yankee troopers continued 
to increase. Our supply of horse-flesh grew scarce,, 
while yours seemed inexhaustible. We were armed with 
every conceivable weapon, from shot-guns and Enfield 
rifles to Harper's Ferry carbines of obsolete pattern, 
while your cavalry carried the latest Sharp's single- 
loaders, and toward the last, Spencer magazine carbines 
— with ammunition galore." 

" Yes, the government was very generous. No armies 
were ever so well fed, clothed, armed, and paid as those 
which carried the stars and stripes in those days," said 
the General. 

" Well," said Major Thornton, '' it is only fair to say 
that after Stuart's death, it was a common remark 
^among our men that we'd rather fight the Yankee in- 



AN OPEQ l/AIS^ ROMANCE. 1 5 

fantry any day than their best cavalry. And that re- 
minds nie of something- that occurred in the Shenandoah 
campaign of '64, where Early and Sheridan were chas- 
ing each other up and down the valley. In the regi- 
ment to which I belonged there was a recruit — a con- 
script — a little dried-up specimen of humanity, who had 
been a small country merchant; he had no stomach for 
fighting, and believed that all differences could be adjusted 
upona mercantile basis. One day our side lost a field- 
piece and orders were issued to re-capture it, if possible. 
As the men were settling themselves in their saddles, 

Private A , who was looking white and nervous, 

leaned forward and earnestly exclaimed : *' Hold on 
fellows ! Can't we settle this? It's nonsense going after 
that old gun anyhow. It ain't worth bloodshed. Let's 
chip in and buy the d — d thing!" The shout which 
greeted the proposal almost drowned the command to 
* move forward !' 

*' By the way, General, you lost your arm in the Shen- 
andoah, did you not?" 

" Yes, just in front of Winchester, in 1864. Yet my 
recollections of that time are very pleasant." 

*' I too, remember that day, but not at all pleasantly. 
As Sheridan aptly expressed it, we went * whirling 
through ' the old town after one of the hardest fisfhts I 
ever took part in. But your glass is empty — there, Gen- 
eral, that is more like. Let us drink to the memory of 
those who fell near the Opequan on that day. To the 
Blue and the Gray ! 

" Major," said General Redbrook, *' a curious thing 



i6 AN OPEQ Van romance. 

happened to me on that occasion ; or, rather, several 
things. If it will not bore you I will relate them." 

"By all means, my friend, it may perhaps revive my 
own recollections of that time." 

The whitehaired soldier paused a moment and then 
began : 

" My most vivid recollections are of the Campaign of 
'64 in the Shenandoah. The earlier operations there had 
not been glorious for the Union cause, and at the open- 
ing of the year mentioned, that fertile ,vale was, as you 
may remember, one of the principal granaries of the Con- 
federate army, which drew upon its resources with but 
little interference. 

*' General Grant determined to send Sheridan with part 
of the Army of the Potomac to change the situation. 
This force, called the Army of the Shenandoah, com- 
prised the Sixth, Eighth, and Nineteenth corps of infantry 
and Merritt's, Wilson's, and Averell's divisions of cavalry. 
Merritt's division consisted of the brigades of Devin, 
Custer and Lowell ; the latter, known as the Cavalry Re- 
serve Brigade (the ist, 2d, 5th U.S., ist N. Y. Dragoons 
and 2d Massachusetts regiments), was under Colonel 
Charles R. Lowell, a nephew of the poet-statesman ; a fine 
officer and gallant gentleman who fell at Cedar Creek. 

" Returning from a short leave, I found my regiment 
at Summit Point, near the Opequan Creek, some six 
miles south of Winchester. It had been on the war-path 
since the opening of the spring campaign, and although 
depleted to but two hundred officers and men was in ex- 
cellent fighting condition. It had a glorious history of 



AM OPEQUAN ROMANCE. ly 

daring and privation ; its standard had been carried be- 
yond the Rio Grande and into the Halls of the Montezu- 
mas ; its rolls bore the names of many who had cut and 
thrust their way to Fame. The graves of its heroic dead 
are among the orange groves of the Si. John's and the 
swamps of the Everglades; along the banks of the Mis- 
souri and dotting the Great Plains like milestones, mute 
witnesses that the Sword alike points the way to Empire 
and is potent for the preservation of Law and Order. Of 
this regiment, I, as senior officer present — although but a 
captain — was commanding officer. 

** For some days the troops had been making prepara- 
tions for a movement ; tents had been struck, but our des- 
tination was yet a mystery. 

*' It was midnight, and many a soldier slumbered heav- 
ily, unconscious that he was on the verge of the sleep 
that knows no awakening; the embers of the camp-fires 
glowed here and there among the prostrate forms of 
Sheridan's troopers, and the stillness was only broken 
by the muffled tread of a sentry on the short grass, or 
by the stamping of a horse at the picket-line. 

''Two hours later, the regiment with which we have 
most to do * led into line ' by squadrons, the troopers 
* standing to horse.' Suddenly the order to mount was 
given quietly and, moving out into the road, our com- 
mand took its place at the head of what, in the darkness, 
seemed a phantom host, bound — Whither? 

** It was General Sheridan's plan — now a matter of 
history — to move his infantry by the Berryville road, 
directly upon the town of Winchester, while one divi- 



I g AN OPEQ UA N ROMANCE. 

sion of cavalry (Wilson's) operated on the left and to- 
ward the turnpike leading to the South. With tlie other 
(Merritt's) division, Torbert would cross the Opequan 
on the right of the Berry ville road at Ridgeway's (See- 
var*s) and Locke's fords, and after a junction with Aver- 
ell at Stephenson's depot, a few miles north of Winches- 
ter, sweep well around the enemy's left flank, in co-op- 
eration with the main army advancing on the town from 
the East. It was at the head of Lowell's column that 
we moved at two o'clock on the morning of September 
19, 1864. 

" Arriving at a farmhouse, near the ford, the division, 
with the exception of Custer's brigade, which passed on 
to Locke's crossing, was dismounted ; a few men crept 
down to the water's edge, their movements covered by 
a heavy mist and tlie brawling of the creek over its 
rocky bottom. It was known that a Confederate cavalry 
picket, with some infantry as a reserve, confronted us. 
The opposite bank was precipitous and well covered 
with timber. About 5 A. M., a shot was heard, followed 
by two more: we had been discovered. Instantly a de- 
tachment under Lieutenant Harris, of 'Ours,' dashed 
across the regular ford, while the rest of the brigade, 
taking advantage of the diversion, crossed in front and 
after some difficulty effected a lodgment, and captured 
several prisoners of the original ' Stonewall Brigade.' 
Although briefi}^ told, this was not done in a moment. 
Harris with a brother officer and two orderlies were im- 
prisoned for some time in a railroad cut near the ford, 
exposed to the enemy's sharpshooters, who kept the 



AN OPEQUAN ROMANCE, I9 

Yankees pinned against a stone abutment, from the shel- 
ter of which tliey emerged with the loss of one man 
wounded and one horse killed. Our troopers drew rein, 
for a moment, on the western bank of the Opequan. 
The orders required us to press forward rapidly. Every 
one was in high spirits ; the slight opposition at the 
crossing had sharpened our appetites for the proverbial 
*bowl of blood ' to which, in those days, playful refer- 
ence was often made, and of which, in these days. Major, 
we veterans agree to have had our fill. The day was 
charming, and the landscape stretching before us was 
suggestive of a picnic rather than of the red ruin soon 
to be wrought upon its face. 

" And here, as I recall the sensations of that hour, 1 
am tempted to digress. Do you remember. Major, the 
realism of Frank Forrester's description of a fox-hunt- 
er's morning?" The Major took his pipe out of his 
mouth long enough to say he did. 

The General resumed. 

" Would that I might borrow that wonderful power 
for a moment, to do justice to the mystic charm of the 
soldier-sportsman's life in time of war. To rise with the 
sun on a crisp autumn morning; to take in with every 
breath an atmospheric cock-tail ; to plunge into a nat- 
ural bath-tub hewn out of the rock-bed of a mountain 
torrent; to join your own exclusive mess in a vigorous 
attack upon the steaming coffee, the savory broil, 
the brown-and-buttered flap-jack, spread in trim, biv- 
ouac fashion under the spreading branches of a noble 
oak. To do this, as the commander of a regiment of horse^ 



26 AN OPEQVAN ROMANCE, 

with everything moving with the precision born of dis- 
cipline and experience; to feel that this gallant host 
is subject to your will, and that lives and reputations 
rest in your hand ; then, settling yourself in your saddle, 
you feel your charger's elastic step, his satin-like coat 
rivaling in brilliancy the polished mountings of his 
equipments, and his dilated nostrils scenting '' the battle 
afar off". Behind you, at proper distance, rides the 
K. O.'s orderly, and by his side the orderly bugler — the 
mouth-piece of authority. Next moves *' the Color 
Guard" — the silken standard borne by a grizzled veteran 
whose service-stripes indicate a score of years. After 
these, upon their claybank horses, sedately come the 
Pioneers ; then upon placid steeds appears the Band ; and 
finally, in successive troops, ride the Fighting Men. 

" Compare this cavalcade, its tramp of hoofs, its jingle 
of spurs, its rough-riding badinage, with the hunter's 
ride to the meet : drawing the enemy instead of the fox ; 
charging a dangerous foe, rather than following the 
hounds, and, finally, joining in the mel(fe of battle in place 
of being 'Mn at the death " of a poor little animal. 

•' But, my dear Major, you and I know that into one 
military campaign may be crowded the pleasure and 
pain of a lifetime ; and to one who has quaffed the strong 
waters of war time the wine of civil life is indeed in- 
sipid." 

Here the General took a long — breath and then took 
up the thread of his story : 

" Lowell's brigade again moved forward. Suddenly, 
some gray-clad horsemen appeared in our front. As we 



AN OPEQ UAN ROMANCE. 2 1 

advanced they fell back toward a formidable barrier a 
quarter of a mile distant. The country was rolling, in- 
tersected by stone and rail fences, and was not unfavor- 
able for mounted operations. Behind the enemy's 
skirmisiiers was one of these fences, flanked by a forest. 
Along- this fence was a line of Wharton's infantry, form- 
ing the extreme left of Early's army. The sunlight 
danced upon their polished musket-barrels, while the 
butternut of their well-woin uniforms blended with their 
neutral-tinted breastwork. In the angle of their position, 
where it joined the woodland, a i2-pounder field gun 
was visible as well as a flag of ''stars and bars" which 
fluttered temptingly in the distance — just out of reach. 

" Since our start in the early morning, a number of 
detachments had been made from my regiment, so that, 
as we halted, it numbered hardly one hundred men. At 
this mornent a staff-offlcer dashed up to the brigade 
commander and spoke earnestly. 

'' Turning to me. Colonel Lowell said : 

"'Captain, I want you to move forward with your 
command, and second General Custer, who is about to 
charge. I will go with you.' 

" Taking a look ahead to pick out the best line of ap- 
proach to the enemy's position, the commands: ' Draw 
Sabre ! Trot — March !' followed in rapid succession. 
As we neared the angle, a ringing cheer was heard 
away on the right, and the dashing Custer, with his yel- 
low locks floating in the breeze, appeared at the head of 
his brigade, bearing down upon the foe. 

""^ ^ Charge r and, like a whirlwind, our men swept to- 



22 AN OPEQ UAN ROMANCE. 

ward the Confederate infantry. Their musketry fire 
was not very effective, being as a rule too low, although 
many of our horses bit the dust in the first hundred 
yards of our advance. 

"'Go for the flag!' shouted Lowell, which brought 
forth a cheer ; but the coveted prize was instantly with- 
drawn to the rear of the battery. It began to look as 
if we were going to capture a trophy, when a flash of 
fire burst in our faces, followed by a crashing sound. 
Then ensued a babel of Rebel yells and Yankee cries, the 
plunging of riderless horses, and our bugles sounding 
* the rally.' The charge was over ; and although no 
battle-flags were taken, we had effected the object of 
what would otherwise have been bravado on our part. 
Our movement was a feint, under cover of which part 
of Merritt's division had stolen upon the enemy's right 
and rear, causing him to retire and giving us once more 
the right of way to Winchester. Our regimental casual- 
ties were three killed and four wounded. 

"My own experience was peculiar. I had pulled up 
within fifty yards of our goal, and under cover of the 
dust and smoke was about to rejoin the regiment, which 
could be seen at some distance, reforming its broken 
ranks. Suddenly ' Old Salamander ' — who had carried 
me safely into and out of many a tight place before, 
staggered, halted, and refused to move ; conscious that 
the big brown target invited sharp-shooting, I dis- 
mounted and tried to lead him. He proved to be badly 
wounded, the blood spurting from five or six places in 
. his body. We were too near the enemy's line to render 



AN OPEQ UAN ROMANCE, 2 3 

an attempt, on my part, to cross the open, on foot, par- 
ticularly safe ; while to remain longer meant a trip to 
Libby prison. My dilemma was noted by a gallant Ser- 
geant, who, of his own moticjn, galloped to my assist- 
ance. In a moment he had reined up ; jumping up be- 
hind him, I was carried back to the regiment under a 
parting salute from the enemy, which wounded the Ser- 
geant's horse in three places, so that, wild with pain and 
terror, he became unmanageable. It was with difficulty 
and the combined efforts of two of Lowell's staff that he 
was induced to halt with his double burden. As for me 
I was compelled to dismount a soldier, and for the rest 
of that eventful day, rode to the subdued clatter of the tin- 
cup, nose-bag, spare horse-shoe and other paraphernalia of 
a troop-horse's equipment. In England the Sergeant's 
feat would have been promptly rewarded with the 
V. C, but it was only the other day that, " For most dis- 
tinguished gallantry in action," on that occasion, the 
War Department awarded to Sergeant Schmidt the Con- 
gressional Medal of Honor. 

"About one o'clock in the day the division commander 
ordered a halt. Near brigade headquarters lounged sev- 
eral cavaliers. One, tall, blond-bearded and broad-shoul- 
dered, with a little scar on his brow just between the 
eyes, sat upon a boulder, resting his chin upon his hand ; 
McQuade was the adjutant-general of the division. 
Opposite, leaning against a tree, with hands crossed be- 
hind him, and puffing at a short briar pipe, stood Harris, 
whilom quartermaster of ' Ours.' The third person — 



24 AN OPEQUAN ROMANCE. 

myself — was lying on his back thinking of nothing in par- 
ticular. 

*' * What's the matter, Mac?' said Harris, ' you look as 
serious as an owl, or as Tom Dewitt when his meer- 
schaum won't color. You've got a soft thing on the staff 
and you were born in the Switzerlaud of America. Now 

if you had an ounce of lead in your leg, like M , we 

could understand your blues.* 

" * The fact is,' said Mac, ' I had a peculiar dream last 
night and an odd feeling all day, as if something was 
about to happen to me or mine. By the wa}-,' continued 
he, ' what was the matter with ** Planter" this morning 
when we were going for that flag?' 

*' * Why,* said Harris, * the old rascal got the devil in 
his head and the bit between his teeth ; thought he was 
on the homestretch in a scrub at Fort Rile}- (as he has 
often been), and nearly carried me into the arms of Secesh. 
In the nick of time, the Sergeant-Major's horse was shot 
and tumbled in our path, enabling me to pull him up. I 
don't think he'll bolt again, as I've taken up the cheek- 
piece of his bridle and tightened the curb-chain, and he 
has acted in a very meek and penitent manner ever 
since.' 

" ' Well,' said I, ' you had better sell, trade, or give him 
away; you may depend upon it that a horse, once accus- 
tomed to the turf, makes a ver}'^ unreliable war-horse, and 
I fear he'll get you into trouble yet.' 

**' Nonsense, Redbrook, you're a croaker. By the 
way, how did you come by that hole in your sleeve? 



A IV OPEQ UAN ROMANCE. 2 5 

By Jove! you have had a close call — a rifle-ball has 
gone through that, sure,' said Harris. 

" I had not observed it before. The blouse had * leg of 
mutton' sleeves, and this hole, round and clean, had 
passed through the cloth at'the angle of the elbow — just 
clearing the arm. It was evidently a souvenir of the 
niorning, when ' Salamander' stood up for rifle-prac- 
tice. 

" ' Well,' said I, ' if there is any truth in ' bullets never 
strike in the same place,' then, my dear Mac, your head 
and my arm are safe ; and as for you, Harris, ' an ounce 
of prevention,' etc., fits your case — at least for to-day.* 

'' The scar on INIcQuade's forehead was from a spent- 
ball which had struck him there in an affair some six 
months before. 

*' The firing had been growing more distant upon our 
left, toward which our course was gradually directed. 
The entire cavalry force under Torbert soon became 
engaged with the enemy, which gallantly contested 
every inch of giound. Several fine charges were here 
made by Devin and Custer, and many prisoners and sev- 
eral battle-flags were among the spoils. 

*' Halting for a moment, while my orderly filled our can- 
teens from a spring, McQuade came up ; he had just re- 
turned from participation in one of the affairs mentioned ; 
his eyes were bright, and all traces of the mid-day de- 
pression had vanished. 

'*'Did you notice how we drove them?' said he. 
'Old Tommy (Uevin) has three battle-flags and lots of 
prisoners, and I think we have the "rebs " on the run« 



26 AN OPEQUAN ROMANCE, 

You appear all right yet, Redbrook. No more holes in 
your sleeves, are there ? But,' he continued, ' wc agreed 
that bullets never strike twice in the same place, didn't 
we?' and waving his hand, off he galloped. 

*' It was near the close of the afternoon, when the 
army of General Sheridan had pressed that of General 
Early back to the old town. The Confederates were 
making a stout defense, had repulsed our infantry, and 
were seriously menacing the right of the line. * Little 
Phil' came riding over to the point on his right, where 
his infantry and cavalry lines joined, and where, as he 
reports ' the enemy was still fighting with obstinacy in 
the open ground in front of Winchester, and I ordered 
Torbert to collect his cavalry and charge, which was 
done simultaneously with the infantry's advance, and 
the enemy was routed.* * The enemy's cavalry,' says 
Early, ' again charged around my left flank and the men 
began to give way again.' 

" Our part in this movement is soon told. General 
Merritt reported ofificiall}^ : 'Soon Colonel Lowell (Re- 
serve Brigade) entered the lists. His heroic brigade — 
now reduced to about six hundred men — rode out fear- 
lessly within five hundred yards of the enemy's line 
of battle, on the left of which, resting on an old earth- 
work, was a two-gun battery. I'he order was given to 
charge the line and get the guns.' 

" I well remember the moment. Lowell with an air of 
quiet decision on his handsome face, rode in front of the 
brigade which was formed in close column, with my 
regiment leading. The ground in (rout was level as a 



AN OPEQUAN ROMANCE. 2/ 

floor. Not an obstacle appeared between our position 
and wliere the enemy's thin line of infantr}', already 
somewhat disordered, seemed nervously awaiting- us. 
A thousand yards to our right front, sharply outlined 
against the golden sunset was Averell's mounted division 
moving to the enemy's rear with the precision of parade. 
Behind Lowell were six hundred brave hearts and chaf- 
ing steeds — the horses knew wiiat was to be done as well 
as their riders. 

" The brigade commander waved his hand, and we 
moved forward at a quick pace, the sound of hoofs 
deadened somewhat by the elastic Virginia turf. At a 
bugle signal our horses took the trot, and the officers 
found it necessary to restrain the inclination of some of 
the men to force the pace ; but, generally, we were well 
in hand, when a musketry volley struck the head of the 
column and the leading squadron swerved for a moment; 
but with the cries of ' Forward! Forward!' they again 
pressed on. Within a hundred yards of the enemy 
'GaUop!' i\\\([ ' CJiarge !' were heard and we were off, 
safely over a ditch and through the hostile skirmish line. 

*'In front of us a Southern standard-bearer' standing 
not upon tlie order of his going ' but showing a remark- 
ably bright set of horseshoes. To the right and left 
were individual horsemen of the enemy — some in full 
flight, and some turning to take a parting shot at their 
pursuers. To the right front were the guns of Lee's 
battery, which had opposed us in the morning, their out- 
lines partially concealed by the earthwork and the veil 
of smoke which curled above them. But one shot did 



28 AN OPEQUAN ROMANCE. 

they get in at us and it passed over our hends. Harris 
had just pointed out the Confederate color-bearer as a 
possible prize, when off to the right, fifty yards away, a 
'one more shot' fellow pulled up and aimed his carbine 
point blank at our party. The thought flashed through 
my head. ' He's trying for a bull's-eye on some of us,* 
and, instinctively, I gave my horse the spur. The next 
moment I felt a crushing shock in my right arm, as if 
it had been struck with an iron bar; it dropped to my 
side, and my sabre swung wildly, hanging by the sword 
knot from my wrist. The Confederate marksman had 
made his ' bull's-eye.* 

*' Promptly deciding that as a combatant I * lingered 
superfluous on the stage,' I tried to attract my orderly's 
attention ; it was the homestretch of the charge, how- 
ever, and that worthy, although immediately behind me, 
had a rapt gaze that saw nothing but the enemy. As I 
pulled to one side the brigade passed with a rushing 
sound, like Marryatt's East Indiaman, under a cloud of 
canvas, running before the wind. 

" In a moment I was alone between the armies. My 
horse's head was turned back in the direction of division 
headquarters, when the sound of hoofs fell on my ear. 
Looking off toward what had been the Confederate right, 
I saw three horsemen in gray coming toward me at full 
speed. Once more calling upon the troop horse, he 
dashed on belabored by the dangling sabre and stung b}^ 
the spur to fresh exertion. Lying flat along his neck 
and giving him free rein, every bound brought us nearer 
to our lines, a fact not without its effect upon the pur- 



A N OPEQ UAN ROMANCE. 2g 

suers, who contented themselves with emptying their re- 
volvers at the pursued, to whose ears the whistling of 
the balls, as they missed their mark, were anything but 
musical. Without pulling up, I now endeavored to free 
my wounded arm of the weight of solid metal which 
bore it down. Leaning over for this purpose, I tugged 
at the sword-knot when a ball struck my horse in the 
flank ; with a snort of pain and fright he plunged vio- 
lently and the next moment was riderless. Partially 
stunned I hiy surroimded by the debris of battle — dead 
men and horses, an overturned battery-wagon and aban- 
doned arms. 

"As predicted, Harris' horse ' Planter ' mistook the 
charge for a trial of speed, and despite his rider's efforts 
was soon a length or two ahead of the field and uncon- 
trollable. 

" It was Harris's misfortune to be captured, but not un- 
ti' within six hundred yards beyond where the enemy 
V AS first struck, and when dismounted in front of their 
second line by his horse falling. Nor did he suffer the 
humiliation of surrender of iiis sabre ; for as he fell to 
the ground with stunning force, its point entered the sod 
several inches, well nigh doubling the blade, which, in its 
recoil, tore the knot from his wrist, frying many feet 
through the air. As he afterward described the scene, a 
crowd of wild looking men surrounded him, threatening 
in their actions, but unable to repress such expressions as 
these : ' Great God ! what a charge ! How grandly you 
sailed in! What brigade ?' and as he replied, 'Cavalry 
l^eserve Brigade, First Division* they fairly tore his cloth. 



30 AN OPEQUAN ROMANCE. 

ing-off, taking his gold watch and chain, pocket-book, cap, 
and even spnrs, and then tnrned him over to four infan- 
trymen. Tlie confusion and actual rout, produced by 
the successive charges of Merritt's First Cavalry Divi- 
sion, would appear incredible, did not Harris actually wit- 
ness them. To the right, a battery, with guns disabled 
and caissons shattered, was trying to make to the rear, 
the men and horses impeded by broken regiments of cav- 
alry and infantry. To the left, the dead and wounded in 
confused masses around their field-hospitals — many of the 
wounded in great excitement seeking shelter in Winches- 
ter; directly in front, an ambulance, the driver nervously 
clutching the reins, while six men were carrying to it 
the body of General Rodes. Not being able to account 
for the bullets which kept whizzing past, Harris turned 
and faced our own lines to discover the cause, and, if pos- 
sible, catch a last sight of the 'stars and stripes.' This is 
what he saw : 

'' The sun, well down in the West, mellowing every- 
thing with that peculiar golden hue which is the charm 
of our autumn days. To the left, our cavalry were hur- 
riedly forming for another and final charge. To the 
right, our infantry, in unbroken line, in the face of the 
enemy's deadly musketry, with banners unfurled, now 
enveloped in smoke, now bathed in the golden glory of 
the setting sun, were seen slowly but steadily pressing 
forward. Suddcnlv, above the almost deafening din and 
tumult of the conflict, an exultant shout broke forth, and 
simultaneously our cavalry and infantry line charged. 
As he stood on tiptoe to see the lines crash together, 



AN OPEQ UAN ROMANCE. 3 1 

himself and guards were suddenly caught in the con- 
fused tide of a thoroughly beaten army — cavalry, artil- 
ery and infantry — broken, demoralized, and routed, hur- 
rying through Winchester. 

" As for me I had lain where I had fallen perhaps ten 
minutes, when I heard a horse galloping toward the spot. 
As (he rider pulled up, I saw that he was young, good 
looking and dressed in a gray uniform, evidently fresh 
from the tailor. Dismounting he came to me and, bend- 
ing down, gently relieved me of my belt on which hung a 
pistol and a small pair of field-glasses ; then he asked me 
if I was badly hurt, and producing a small flask offered 
me a drink. It was very fair whisky, but I was ready to 
certify that it was nectar. My gallant foe, as he re- 
mounted, remarked that as we were then behind the 
Union line of battle, it was not a good place for him. I 
thanked him for his timely succor. With a compassion- 
ate look on his open countenance he said: 'Sorry for 
you, my friend. We'll fight you as long as you can 
stand up, but we won't jump on a man when he's down ;' 
and with a wave of his hand he dashed ofT. 

*' Another quarter of an hour passed and another horse- 
man approached. This time it was a friend indeed — 
Colonel Lowell — who, missing me after the charge, had 
made another one thinking I had fallen into the enemy's 
hands ; returning, he had, unattended, started to go over 
the ground again. He was successful, and placing me 
upon his gray steed, like the Good Samaritan and gal- 
lant comrade that he was, helped me to headquarters. 
On the way we passed McQuade, who came forward 



32 AN OPEQ UAN ROMANCE, 

with a question on his lips. I pointed to my arm. He 
started and exclaimed :/ What ! there f Ten minutes 
later poor Mac lay cold in death. He was carrying an 
order when a bullet struck him between the eyes, and on 
the scar of the spent-ball of the year before. His pre- 
sentiment came true and our superstition proved value- 
less. The three comrades of the midday halt had, by 
nightfall, been accounted for, respectively, among the 
casualties of the battle-field, as 'killed, wounded and 
missing !' " 



As the General described his experiences of the charge 
and the episode of the Confederate officer, Major Thorn- 
ton showed a marked interest. He took his pipe from 
his mouth and allowed it to grow cold ; his eyes had a 
far-away look ; once he half rose from his seat, and was 
evidently nervous and agitated. As the story came to a 
close the General said : 

"I am afraid I've bored you with my long-winded 
yarn." 

Thornton gazed intently at his guest for a moment, then 
put up his hand and said, *' Wait !" and rising from his seat 
passed into an adjoining room. In a few minutes the 
Major reappeared with a pair of field-glasses. Handing 
them to Redbrook he said: "Did you ever see those 
before ?" 

The General took them in his hand and examined 
them carefully. Upon each rim in gold letters were thQ 



AN- OPEQ UAN ROMANCE. 3 3 

initials, *' C. M^K. L." Then he said, " Where did you 
get these ?" 

" Took them as 'contraband of war' from a wounded 
Union officer, at the time and place you mention, and I am 
now satisfied that you were that officer!" Both men by 
mutual impulse rose to their feet and silently clasped 
hands across the table. 

Major Thornton briefly described his adventures on 
the day in question. He had narrowly escaped capture 
at the hands of Custer's men, and eventually rejoined 
Fitz Lee's headquarters by a detour through the fields. 
The belt and pistol he had lost in the course of his sub- 
sequent service, but the little field-glass had been sent 
home and preserved as a trophy of war. 

It had proved to be something more. Originally 

belonging to a friend of Red brook's — Charlie L , 

(then a prisoner of war) its involuntary transfer on the 
field of battle seemed to have prompted an act of mercy, 
as it long after sealed the union of two quondam foes in 
bonds of friendship and love through that mysterious 
agency which some call Fate. 




COME AND TAKE IT ! ' 



34 




\ V J^c\^»^"" 



SERGEANT JOHN G. MERRITT, 

FIRST MINNESOTA INFANTRY. 



A MINNESOTA BOY'S FIRST BATTLE. 



PERHAPS the battle of Bull Run (or Manassas), 
which was fought on Virginia soil on a certain Sun- 
day in July, i86i, may be likened to one of three signal- 
guns : the capture of Fort Sumter being the first, and the 
battle of Gettysburg the third. 

The firing at Sumter warned men to. choose sides and to 
prepare for a struggle, long and severe ; how bitter, how 
bloody, none at the time dreamed. 

Bull Run and its famous stampede taught the lesson that 
something more was required to win battles than masses of 
armed men ; that courage without discipline was of little 



JO 



36 A MINNESOTA BOY'S FIRST BATTLE. 

avail, and that the vast resources of the Government must 
be organized, drilled and led by experienced commanders 
ere victory could be ours. 

Gettysburg marked the "high tide" of the war; the 
roar of its cannon sounded the death knell of the Confeder- 
acy. Other battles were to be fought and thousands of men 
in blue and gray were to lie down in death on the same 
fields, but the preservation of the Union was assured when 
the sun went down behind the sheets of summer rain on the 
third day of Gettysburg. 

Somehow or other the name " Bull Run " is generally 
associated, in the minds of people who were not there, Vv^ith 
the idea of an amusing and, on one side, at least, an en- 
tirely disgraceful performance ; and this is quite natural. 
We are often told that ^r^Y impressions are strongest, but 
this hardly holds good of a defeated army : there the 
strongest impression is doubtless the last. 

Greatly ridiculed and denounced when it occurred, the 
battle of Bull Run is gradually finding its vindication. 
General Sherman says it was " one of the best planned 
battles" of the war, but one of the worst fought," and that 
"both armies were fairly defeated." General Johnston 
says: '' If the tactics of the Federals had been equal to their 
strategy, we should have been beaten." While therefore 
Bull Run will always be famous for its discreditable feat- 
ures, it is now known that in no other affair of the war 
were there more brilliant exhibitions of personal gallantry 
and heroism than on that historic field. Many of these ex- 
ploits were by boys of eighteen who faced death there for 
the first time. One of these, Sergeant JOIIN G. Merritt, 



GOING TO THE FRONT. 



3; 



Company K, First Minnesota Infantry, who afterward re- 
ceived the Medal of Honor for gallantry at Bull Run, tells 
i.he story of his first battle so well that it is given here in 
his own words : 

GOING TO THE FRONT. 

" I was a sergeant in Co. K, First Regiment Minnesota 
Volunteers.^ The regiment broke camp at Centerville 
about three o'clock on the morning of Sunday, July 21, 
1 861. With a soldier's equipments and three days' rations, 
we realized before sunrise that it was going to be a hot day. 
After we had been on the march for about a couple of 
miles we turned off the main road to the right ; we were 
delayed a good deal by fallen trees with sharpened points 
sticking towards us. Whenever we could we would double- 
quick, and, as the morning was very hot, the pace told on 
some of the men. 

"John Ball, the orderly sergeant of K Co., was sick and 
I was acting as orderly sergeant. As sick as Ball was, he 
came on the field, and I saw him standing near the regiment 
while they were engaged, with his arms folded, apparently 
the most unconcerned person of the lot ; he was a brave 
and fearless man. Captain Lester, Lieutenants Holtzbornf 
and Periam:): were the officers of the company. 

" We could hear the sound of cannon very distinctly about 

*" The brigade left camp near Centerville at 2.30 a.m. in the following order ;--ist 
Minnesota, Ricketts' Battery, sth Massachusetts. The Minnesota regiment was arranged 
with the two front companies as ready to act as skirmishers, the next three companies as 
the advanced guard, and the remainder of the regiment formed the head of the column 
. . , the brigade reached Bull Run about 11 a.m. after a march of about twelve miles,"— 
War Records, Co/. Franklin'' s Report. 

t Killed at Antietam. 

% Mortally wounded at Gettysburg. 



38 A MINNESOTA BOY' S FIRST BATTLE. 

eight o'clock, and by ten or eleven o'clock we could plainly 
hear the sound of musketry ; by that time we knew we were 
going to have a fight. After I was satisfied that such was 
going to be the case, and being desirous of obtaining mili- 
tary distinction, I applied to Lieutenant Holtzborn, of my 
company, for the privilege of selecting four men for the pur- 
pose of capturing the first Confederate f^ag we could get. 
The lieutenant told me it was a hazardous undertaking, 
but said, after consultation with Captain Lester, I had per- 
mission. Sergeant Dudley, Privates Durfee, Grim and one 
other, whose name I have forgotten, readily consented to 
my proposal, and all agreed to follow me and to stick to 
one another under any circumstances. 

** Before going into action, the whole regiment divested 
themselves of knapsacks, haversacks and blankets, and piled 
them in one large heap beside the road, thinking of course 
we would be back in a couple of hours — as soon as we had 
* crushed the Rebellion.' I and my four men in partic- 
ular carried nothing with us but our ammunition and guns. 
After we had supplied ourselves with water,^ and every- 
thing being now ready, orders were given to ' Forward ! ' 
and we immediately filed through a cluster of trees, where 
the dying and wounded were being brought on stretchers 
and blankets. Everything was at the height of excitement, 
as the roar of cannon and the incessant volleys of musketry 
were very heavy, and with an occasional stray shot coming 



* " At Sudley Springs, while awaiting the passage of the troops of the division in our 
front, I orJered forward the ist Brigade (Franklin's) to fill their canteens. Captain 
Wright led forward the Minnesota regiment to the left of the road which crossed the 
Run at this place. . . .^'—Colonel Heintzlemans Report. 



GOING INTO ACTION. -^ 

among us, you can rest assured the regiment was on the 
alert. 

" I never shall forget the first sight of dead, wounded and 
dying. Pity and sympathy, mingled with a feeling of fear, 
made me realize in an instant we were approaching death. 
But the feeling passed away as soon as it came. 

"■ So far as my recollection goes, when we got out into the 
open space we were ordered to the other side of the field, 
and in marching over, double-quick, we passed directly in 
the rear of our artillery, which was heavily engaged.^ It 
was very laughable and amusing to see some of the men 
jump and squat down, trying to dodge, in all manner of 
ways, the cannon shots from the Rebel guns ; and I was 
not slow at the dodging business myself. One of my com- 
pany would constantly run out of the ranks and up to the 
captain and say, 'Has the fight commenced yet? Has 
the fight commenced yet ? ' He was not long in finding 
out when the fight did commence. 

*' Arriving at what seemed to me the extreme right, we 
formed in line in a ravine, near some cavalry, and awaited 
orders. 

*' It was now about half-past one o'clock. We were soon 
ordered forward, and as we advanced rapidly to the brow of 
a plateau we knew we were soon to meet the enemy, face 
to face, at short range. Just before w^e got to the top ot 
the plateau the bugle sounded 'lie down.' With fixed 
bayonets and loaded rifles we were ready and anxious for 
business. In about a couple of minutes the bugle sounded 

* "At a little more than a mile from the ford we came upon the battlefield. Franklin's 
brigade was posted on the right of a wood near the centre of our line, and on ground ris- 
ing toward the enemy's ^osiUon."~-Ci>lonel Heintzleman s Report. 



40 A MINNESOTA BOY'S FIRST BATTLE, 

' stand up ' ; no sooner had we done so and were well in 
line when the command ' Forward ! ' was given. That 
brought us directly in j^lain sight and directly in front of a 
Jine of *Rebs.'"^' We were not more than thirty or thirty- 
five yards apart ; in fact we were so close that for a minute 
we did not know who they weref (I saw, about this time, 
General Heintzleman riding in plain view of the enemy). 
We saw their colors and all fired immediately ; in less than 
half a minute they gave us a round. We were ordered to 
lie down and load ; then we were ordered to stand up and 
fire. We had given them three or four rounds and they 
were slowly falling back, a little confused. When the 
smoke and dust would break away we could see them and 
their colors as plain as you can see a man across the street. 
Just at this time a single gun from Ricketts* Battery came 
directly to the rear of K Company, unlimbered, and in less 
than half a minute gave them a round of grape and canis- 
ter. The artillerymen immediately reloaded and gave them 
another dose of the same medicine. The second round 
threw them in utter confusion, and it was at that time 
myself and the men named above advanced double-quick 
on the Rebel color-bearer. We had no trouble in reaching 
him, as the smoke and dust had not risen, and from his 



* " I then led up the Minnesota regiment, which was also repulsed but retired in toler- 
ably g-ood order. It did good service in the woods on our right flank, and was among the 
last to retire, coming off the field with the 3d U. S. Infantry, . . .^'—Colonel Heintzle- 
mati's Report- 

t "The ist Minnesota Regiment moved from its position on the left of the field to the 
support of Ricketts' battery, and gallantly engaged the enemy at that point. It was 
so near that point, friends and foes were for a time confounded. The regiment be- 
haved exceedingly well, and finally retired from the field in good ord^r."'— Colonel 
Franklin's Report- 



A FIGHT FOR THE STANDARD. . j 

actions I thought he was under the impression he had been 
captured. 

A FIGHT FOR THE STANDARD. 

" The man who carried the colors was about five feet ten 
or eleven inches, dark complexioned, with black hair, slight 
mustache and black eyes ; he with others about him wore 
gray clothes and black slouch hats ; some one was trying 
to form them. The color-bearer had his coat unbuttoned, 
with his hat on the back of his head. As I got within a 
couple of feet of him I commanded him in a peremptory 
manner to surrender, and at the same time Dudley, Durfee 
and myself cocked our guns. I grabbed the colors out of 
his hand ; he and one or two more said, ' Don't shoot ! 
don't shoot ! ' 

" The flag was a red one with a white stripe running 
through the middle of it, with blue in one corner and some 
stars on it. As soon as I grabbed the colors out of the 
Johnnie's hands I told him to follow me quick, and at the 
same time told my men to get back to the regiment as soon 
as possible. Dudley, Grim and myself were laughing at 
the easy thing we had, and all of us running for the regi- 
ment as fast as we could go, when — bang ! bang! bang ! 
came 3 volley after us, killing Grim and the comrade whose 
name 1 have forgotten, and at the same time a dozen or 
more of Rebs ran after us, some of them hollering ' Kill 

the d d black abolition, red-shirt Yankee, . . . .' and 

at the same time gave us another round. From the sound 
it seemed as if a regiment was firing at us. That was the 
shot that killed young Durfee and wounded me in the le^; 



43 A MINN E SO TA BOY'S FIRST BA TTLE. 

another bullet went through the breast-pocket of my shirt 
and shivered my pipe in pieces. I dropped my gun but 
held on to the flag, and was going about as fast on one leg 
as most men generally go on two ; but before I had gone 
ten feet I was hit over the head with what I thought was 
the stock of a musket. It knocked me down but did not 
knock me senseless. They immediately pulled the flag out 
of my hands and fell back on a run. 

" As they did so, Dudley came back to me (he had run 
ahead some little distance), helped me up and assisted me 
along as fast as I could go. How Dudley and I escaped 
with our lives seems almost incredible, and looks now as if 
we' had been hedged about with some halo of good luck. 

" From the firing of the gun of Ricketts' Battery to the 
time I was shot, not more than five or eight minutes had 
expired. What we did, we did quick and without cere- 
mony, and if we could have kept them off from us half a 
minute longer we would have been safe. As soon as we 
got back to the regiment and I realized the fact that I 
could not walk and was bleeding very fast, I took my sus- 
penders off and tied them as tight as I could above the 
wound, to keep from bleeding to death ; and at the same 
time asked Lieutenant Holtzborn, who happened to see 
me, to have some one assist me to the rear. This was dur- 
ing some change of position of the regiment. 

*' He ordered Sergeant Dudley and Private Durfee, a twin 
brother of the one who had just been killed, to carry me 
off. I put an arm round each of their necks and held on 
to them as they hurriedly walked along 



I 



GOING TO THE REAR. ^3 

GOING TO THE REAR. 

'' The regiment was still fighting, and at this time a 
mounted officer, with his reins in one hand and a big navy 
revolver in the other, rode by us on a dead run ; turning 
round in his saddle he hollered out, ' Men of Minnesota, 
for God's sake don't disgrace your State ! ' — and he was 
off for Washington or some other safe place as fast as his 
big bay horse could carry him. It was an ocular and com- 
l)Iete demonstration of the advice a father gave to his son, 
' Do as I say, but not as I do.' 

" As soon as we got to the foot of a little hill I fainted 
away on a spot where some horses had been standing. I 
was brought to by Dudley throwing some dirty water in 
my face. This immediately straightened me up, and taking 
hold of them as before we hurriedly moved off. By the 
time they got me to a house, which was being used as a 
temporary hospital, I began to feel sick at my stomach and 
very faint. Surgeons were dressing the wounds of some 
of Ellsworth's Zouaves, Michigan and Massachusetts menj 
and giving them stimulants. They gave me two or three 
swallows, which settled my stomach and made me feel bet- 
ter. The next thing 1 knew I was being pulled up and 
yanked along as fast as we could go. All commenced to 
move along at a break-neck gait. The retreat had com 
menced. And of all the helter-skelter, pell-mell, devil-take 
the-hindmost gang I ever saw, or heard tell of, or ever read 
about, that crazy crowd beat them all. They all went as if 
a cyclone had struck them. All was confusion, all disorder 
and every one acted as if the Johnnies were determined to 
have a Yankee apiece for supper ; and some of them would 



44 



A MINNESOTA BOY'S FIRST BATTLE. 



pass by and look at the wounded that were being carried 
and helped off, as much as to say, '■ They can ha.v e j/oii, but 
by golly they shan't catch me ! ' I don't believe there was 
ever a greater stampede of troops than there was between 
that house and the bridge. Dudley and Durfee saved my 
life without a doubt. Durfee would have abandoned me to 
Dudley's charge some time before if 1 had told him the 
truth about his brother, about whom he was constantly in- 
quiring. And here was an instance where ' evasion ' seemed 
better than telling the truth. His brother, as brave and 
daring a fellow as ever shouldered a musket, and very quiet 
and modest at all times, made a remark just before I 
grabbed the colors out of the color-bearer's hands that I 
shall never forget. 'Sergeant,' said he, 'when yoi. take 
it, hold on to it,' and in less than half a minute he was 
shot dead. Had I told his brother he had been killed or 
wounded he would have returned to his assistance immedi- 
ately, and that would have been the last of me. 

" I was the only one of the three that had any money, 
and we finally succeeded, after several attempts, in per- 
suading a teamster, with a four-horse wagon, to let them 
put me on the off-wheel horse, by giving him four one-dol- 
lar gold pieces and some sutler's tickets. Dudley remarked, 
' Give him all you have got, as we might as well get broke 
here as anywhere. Riding the off-wheel horse brought 
my wounded left leg between the two horses and on top 
of the wagon tongue ; this caused me so much pain, I had 
to turn round on the horse so as not to have my leg hurt 
between the two horses. JWith one hand holding on to 
the root of his tail, and the other hmd behind me grasping 



A FA MO US KE TREA T. .^ 

the end of the hames, bare-headed, with a heavy red 
woollen shirt on (the whole regiment wore blue and red 
flannel shirts), all open at the collar and the sleeves rolled 
up, my face covered with blood and dirt, hair sticking 
straight up and matted full of old leaves and grass and 
' sacred soil,' and with the w^orst looking wounded leg 
you ever saw, you can imagine what a pitiful but ludicrous 
sight I must have presented. There must be lots of men 
living yet who saw me just as I have described. I am sure 
I have not half described my appearance on that horse. 

A FAMOUS RETREAT. 

'* Everybody was hollering to get out of the way, and 
every one was running or trying to run. The road was full 
of troops, wagons, ambulances, artillery and some private 
conveyances ; all going as fast as they could go and acting 
just as if the whole Confederate Army was at their heels 
with fixed bayonets. The Rebs were shelling us and 
everything was at the height of confounded confusion. 
No one knew or cared anything about any one except 
themselves. The cursing and yelling of the teamsters, the 
pushing of those whose passage was being obstructed, and 
the groans and appeals for assistance from the wounded, all 
tended to make one believe that, as the teamster said, 
' H — 11 had broke loose.' 

*' We arrived at the bridge a little before sundown. As its 
passage was obstructed by a big gun or caisson, and as we 
were being heavily shelled at that point, madness and con- 
fusion reigned supreme. The teamster could go no fur- 
ther. He jumped off his horse (he rode and drove with a 



46 



A MINNESOTA BOY'S FIRST BATTLE. 



jerk-rein), unhitched the near leader, cut the jerk-rein and 
away he went across the stream. The wagon was full of 
wounded, with pick-axes and shovels for a bed. AH of the 
wounded were begging to be helped across the Bull Run, a 
stream about eight or ten feet deep, and about twenty feet 
wide at that place. Just as the teamster mounted his 
horse one of the men in the wagon, w^th his arm in a sling, 
jumped out, and with one hand commenced unhitching the 
saddle-horse. I at the same time reached over my horse's 
haunches and unhooked both his traces, and at the same 
time appealed to the fellow to unfasten my horse's pole- 
chain ; it was impossible for me to do it, as I was back- 
wards on my horse. He did so, and as luck would have it 
the chain unhooked at the first pull ; he instantly mounted 
his horse, and turning around to the left rode into the 
stream. My horse, being the mate, jumped over the 
tongue of the wagon and followed him. The horses seemed 
as anxious to get away as the panic-stricken soldiers. Men 
and horses were in the stream plunging for the other side. 

'' As I was crossing, one of the Zouaves caught me by the 
wounded leg, with a view, I presume, of getting across. It 
hurt me so, I let go the horse's tail and gave him a punch 
in the head with my fist which loosened his hold on me 
very quick; before I resumed my tail-hold the horse was 
across and had struck into a gallop, following close to his 
mate. At that time a shell passed so close to his head he 
threw it up as if he had been suddenly jerked by the bit. 
That start.e.d the horses into a run, and I certainly thought 
I would be knocked off my beast as he galloped so fast 
under tjie low branches of tjje trees, raking and scratching 



JOHN GILPIN OUTDONE. i^ 

me on the back ; at times it felt as if I had been struck 
with a club, but the tail-hold and harness saved me. Pain 
and Fear were riding for life, with chances now in favor of 
the latter; you may be sure I was not going to lose the 
race by being pulled off. I believe the distance from Bull 
Run to Centerville is about six miles. I think the bridge 
where we crossed was about two miles from the battlefield, 
so I must have ridden that horse backwards about four 
miles — the most of the time as fast as he could go. We 
did not stop for anything — neither ditches nor fences. If 
the one-armed wounded soldier that rode my horse's mate 
fought as vigorously as he rode, he certainly knocked out 
more than one 'Gray-back.' I did not once have my 
horse's bridle-rein in my hand. I never saw my friend 
before nor since, and the only words we exchanged with 
one another were when he told me his horse was running 
away, and I said, ' For God's sake, let him go !' 

*' We arrived at Centerville about nine o'clock at night. 
I was helped off the horse by a regimental surgeon under 
some trees. The poor old horse was nearly exhausted, but 
was immediately remounted by a soldier who rode off. 
Surgeons were taking care of the wounded. They looked 
at my wound and told me I had better have my leg ampu- 
tated at once, but I would not consent to it. I was suffer 
ing very much from pain, and was nearly exhausted from 
loss of blood ; nothing in the world kept me up but excite 
ment. A four-horse wagon drove up and the soldiers that 
were being cared for were helped in. The confusion and 
hurry was still great. I begged them to let me get in the 
wagon, but an officer refused, saying there was no room 



4^ A MINNESO TA BOY'S FIRS T BA TTL E. 

for me. I crawled to the wagon and got in over the front 
wheel while the others were being helped in the back end. 
I stayed in the wagon, although I was ordered out two or 
three times ; they were in too big a hurry to put me out. 
Off they drove as fast as they could get along. There 
were seven of us in the wagon, all badly wounded ; the 
driver and a soldier on the seat with him were not 
wounded : one drove and hollered, while the other 
whipped and cursed. It was very dark and I think it was 
raining. The road was still full of wagons, ambulances and 
straggling troops. We would go very fast at times, and 
then would stop for a few minutes until the teams ahead of 
us moved on. I think the driver was the worst scared of 
all of us, for he tried to drive by, and drive over, every- 
thing ; up hill and down, over stumps, logs and rocks ; we 
were continually being thrown or tossed from one side of 
the wagon to the other. 

THE SILENT PASSENGER. 

" We arrived at Fairfax Court House about midnight. I 
laid my head on a big fat fellow who had sprawled out at 
full length on the bottom of the wagon. We had been 
quarrelling all night about interfering with one another's 
wounds. I supposed the fat fellow had gone to sleep, and 
taking advantage of his position I laid my head on his 
stomach and immediately went to sleep myself. I thought 
it was the softest pillow I ever used. I don't know how 
long I laid there — perhaps half an hour ; we all went to 
sleep. We were awakened by being jolted about in the 
wagon, which was going down hill at a lively gait ; all were 



THE SILENT PASSENGER. 



49 



complaining about our wounds; two or three were groan- 
ing and whining. When the team would walk we would 
all go to sleep again — two or three of us using the fat fel- 
low as a pillow as before. I had a dispute with one of the 
men about my place on the fat fellow's stomach and made 
him move his head along and I resumed my former place. 
We laid as best we could in that position until daylight, 
when we discovered we had been using a dead man for a 
pillow ; the poor fellow had died about the time we left 
P^airfax, as he was very quiet at that place. I thought, the 
last time I laid my head on him, what a clever fellow he 
was to let us have such a comfortable position, and was 
sorry I had quarrelled with him the early part of the night. 
We kept him in the wagon until just before we arrived at 
the Long Bridge. Our pain and exhaustion silenced any 
scruples we otherwise would have had on such an occasion. 
" We were delayed at the bridge some time by the wagons 
and troops crossing. We got on the bridge about half 
past nine or ten o'clock, and must have been an hour cross- 
ing. When we arrived on Pennsylvania Avenue it was 
raining. The street was full of transportation of all kinds, 
and soldiers ; all moving in different directions. The six of 
us left in the wagon were completely worn out and ex- 
hausted from hunger, loss of blood, and neglect. My leg 
was very much swollen and very painful. The w^agon 
stopped between Twelfth and Thirteenth streets. Some 
ladies passed some wine into the wagon under the cover. 
All drank what they wanted. I drank a tin cup full ; it 
was delicious, but made me drunk immediately. I did not 
see the ladies, but the hand that passed the wine to mc 



5 O A MINNESO TA BOY'S FIRS T BA TTL E. 

was small and white, with a silken sleeve, and with dia- 
monds on the fingers. The ladies also passed in some cold 
meat and bread, but we had no use then for bread or meat, 
as the wine was food and raiment. 

" We remained on the avenue about an hour before it was 
decided where to take us. Finally we were ordered to the 
E Street Hospital, where we were taken out of the wagon 
and surrounded by a large crowd of men, women and chil- 
dren, some laughing and others pitying the appearance of 
the wounded as they were being carried into the hospital. 
I was laid on a bed in a large room filled with wounded, 
mostly from the New York, New Hampshire and Massa- 
chusetts rep:iments. As soon as I was laid down, one of 
the Sisters of Mercy who were in attendance — God bless 
them — commenced washing my face with cold water. It 
was a delightful sensation and I immediately fell asleep. 

"When I woke up the doctors were around my bed ex- 
amining my wound and deciding whether they would ampu- 
tate it above or below the knee. I would not consent to 
amputation and they left me in charge of an attendant. 

HOSPITAL MEMORIES. 

• '* The New York papers contained a list of dead and 
wounded ; my name appeared among the list of dead. My 
father telegraphed the late Senator Grimes of Iowa, who was 
at that time a senator from that State, to find out, if he 
could, if I was dead or alive. The Senator learned I was 
in the E Street Hospital, and called on me Wednesday 
morning. As I had never seen him before, he introduced 
himself and made known his errand; after a few minutes 



HOSPITAL MEMORIES. ci 

cheerful conversation he bade me good-by and left. He 
immediately wrote to my father, and in a portion of his let- 
ter he said : 

'' ' I found your son, Sergeant Merritt, Wednesday morn- 
ing, in the E Street Hospital. He is badly wounded in the 
leg but seemed very cheerful when he told me the doctors 
had decided not to amputate it. He is a fine-looking 
young man, and when these trying times are over I hope 
his parents may again have the pleasure of taking to their 
bosom their brave and honored son.' Ex-Senator Windom, 
then a member from Minnesota in the House of Represent- 
atives, often called to see me at the hospital, and was 
exceedingly kind in every respect. 

'' The chaplain of our regiment called everyday. He was 
very deaf and very much devoted to my spiritual welfare. 
He would come right up to the bed holding a Bible in his 
hands, and put his mouth down to my ear and say in 
a loud voice, ' Good-morning, Sergeant. How did you 
sleep last night, Sergeant? Do you think you are im- 
proving, Sergeant? Let us pray: ' and down on his kneea 
he would get and pray for about five minutes, invoking 
especial aid and blessing on all of the wounded of the ist 
Minnesota Regiment, and would wind up by saying he 
hoped I would ' soon be able to report for duty to the reg- 
iment. Amen! Amen f ' He would get up, take up his cap 
and get out as quick as he came in. He was a good man, 
but it was the same questions and same prayers every 
morning except Sundays, when he would include for special 
blessing the soldier in the bed next to me. 

2 



52 A MINN ESQ TA BOY'S FIRS T BA TTLE. 

" John Hcenan, the pugilist, and a man by the name of 
Decker, ex-chief of the fire department of New York, called 
frequently to see one of the Zouaves, an old friend of theirs 
who laid in a bed next to me. I got well acquainted with 
Heenan. They would sit, one on my bed and the other on 
their friend's bed, and talk for half an hour or so, and 
always bring some little delicacies. Heenan told me, one 
morning, he understood I had captured a Rebel flag at Bull 
Run, and asked me what I had done with it. I pulled off 
the sheet and wet cloth on m)' wound and pointing to it 
said, ' I traded it off for that ! ' The sight of it made him 
sick at his stomach and he left the hospital. In two or 
three days they came in again, and as Heenan approached 
the bed he threw up both hands and said, laughing, ' No 
more leg ! ' After a few minutes I asked him if he would 
like to enlist in my regiment. He said, ' No, indeed ; from 
what I have seen,' looking toward my leg, ' I can do better 
fighting in the Ring than in the Field.' He was a fine- 
looking, clever fellow, and looked and acted more like a 
gentleman than a prize fighter. 

" While we were in camp near Alexandria, Va., before we 
went to Centervillc, we would occasionally do guard duty 
there. I was relieving guard one morning with a file of 
men, and on passing an open door of a private residence, 
there stood a couple of young girls, about sixteen or eight- 
een years old, laughing and making fun of the Yankee 
soldiers. One of them had on an apron representing the 
Confederate flag. I halted the men and told her to take 
it off. She said, 'You long-legged, hateful Yankee, I 
wouldn't take it off to save your good-for-nothing life ; ' and 



THE REWARD OF MERIT. 



5, 



bcLl: pf the girls glared at us defiantly. We all laughed at 
thcfr pluck and moved on." 

THE REWARD OF MERIT. 

Sergeant Mcrritt remained in hospital about thirty days, 
when, having recovered from his wound, he rejoined his 
regiment in Maryland. His >ecord shows that he served 
with characteristic gallantry during the remainder of the 
war, and took part in all the battles of the famous Second 
Corps, Army of the Potomac. 

Long after the events which he hi» described, he received 
the bronze medal, with a letter, of which the following is a 
copy : 

War Depai^tment, 
Washington, April i, 1880. 

IR: 1 transmit to you the en- 
closed Medal of Honor, which, as 
the inscription shows, is from 
" The Congress to Sergeant John 
G. Merritt, Co. K, 1st Minnesota 
Volunteers." 

This medal is awarded to you 
under the provisions of law for 
gallantr)' at the battle of Bull Run, in July, 1861, where 
you were wounded while in advance of your regiment. 

In connection with this award I find occasion to remem- 
beM- with renewed i)leasure and gratitude the patriotism of 




5_^ A MINNESOTA BOY'S FIRST BATTLE. 

Minnesota's citizen-, who in answer to my call as Governor, 
at the first dawn of the war period, valiantly responded with 
the cheers, the trumpets and the drums of the First Minne- 
sota Regiment, of which you were a member. 

Alex. Ramsey, 

Secretary of War, 





MAJOR WILLIAM B. HINCKS, 

FOURTEENTH tONN. INFANTRY. 



SERGEANT-MAJOR HINCKS' EXPLOIT. 

During the grand assault, the Fourteenth Connecticut 
Regiment was in position opposite the left of the enemy's 
advancing lines; this regiment was armed with Sharps' 
breech-loading rifles and their fire was very severe. 

Sergeant Wade of this regiment says: 

'' By this time the Fourteenth were all excited; they re- 
membered Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville, 
and over the wall they went; nothing could stop them, and 
soon they were fighting hand-to-hand with the rebels. We 
captured six battle-flags and forty prisoners ; and over one 

hundred prisoners came in afterwards Oh, it was a 

glorious day for the old Fourteenth ! One of the lieuten- 
ant-colonels taken by our regiment, coming up to our thin 

55 




56 



SERGF.AXT-MAJOR HINCKS' EXPLOIT. ^^ 

line, asked us where all our troops were, and being told that 
he could see all there were, exclaimed, * Oh ! that I had 
known it a half hour since.' Some of the prisoners told us 
that their generals told them that they were fighting noth- 
ing but the Penns\'lvania militia, but when they saw that 
ace of clubs, the trefoil badge of the Second Corps, they 
all exclaimed, ' We have been fighting the Army of the 
Potomac' " 

After the first fire from the Union side had taken 
effect, Sergeant-Major WiLLlAM B. HlNCKS, of the Four- 
teenth, saw, planted in the ground, some distance in front, a 
rebel flag. Around and on a Hne with it were a number of 
unwounded men who had thrown themselves down to avoid 
the heav}^ fire. He determined to capture the flag. Leap- 
ing over the wall, with nothing but his short sword in his 
hand, he ran straight for it. At the same time two or three 
others of his regiment had started for the same goal. One 
of these, an officer, was brought down by a bullet ere he 
had run ten yards. Hincks outstripped the others, reached 
the spot, and with a yell seized the colors by the staff, and 
waving his sword over his head was on his way back before 
those around could divine his purpose. Instantly a shower 
of bullets came all about him ; he was also exposed to a 
scattering fire from our troops. It was " running the gant- 
let " indeed. Hincks, in his dash across the neutral ground, 
seemed to bear a charmed life. As he neared his own lines 
he saw the men standing up, regardless of the leaden mes- 
sengers behind, and as he mounted the wall, trophy in hand, " 
the regiment, to a man, wildly cheered the gallant fellow. 
It i)roved to be the colors of the " Fourteenth Tennessee." 



3 8 MARS AND CUPID AT GETTYSBURG. 

On the flag were inscribed the names of the following bat- 
tles in which it had been borne: '' Seven Pines," '' Mechan- 
icsville," "Cold Harbor," '' Shepardstown," ''Fredericks- 
burg," ''Chancellorsville," ''Ox Hill," "Harper's Ferry," 
" Sharpsburg," " Frazier's Farm," "Cedar Run," " Manas- 
sas." 

Major Hincks writes: "We were behind a low stone 
wall, such as may be seen on any New England farm. Par- 
allel to this wall, and perhaps 1 50 yards away, was a lane 
(Emmittsburg road?), on either side of which were the ruins 
of a wooden fence. My recollection is that our people 
began to fire as the front line of the enemy crossed this 
fence. This broke their front line ; their advance was 
checked and they began to fire. Then their color-bearer 
ran forward, planted his flag in the ground, and with several 
others — \ presume the color-guard — laid down beside it, our 
fire being very hot. At that time I was firing two Sharps' 
rifles which Lieut. Hawley was loading for me ; they be- 
longed to men wounded early in the day. . . . The regi- 
ment on our right fired buck-and-ball cartridges, and I think 
that I was in as much danger from them when I ran to get 
the flag as from the enemy. . . . One gun (cannon) which 
had been pushed out a few rods in front of our stone wall 
remained there during the charge, having been disabled. A 
daring Southerner jumped upon this gun and waved his hat; 
but did not live to tell the story. In going after the flag I 
ran past this gun, leaving it upon my left hand." 




WHER 



E I'lCKliTT's CHARGE EiNDED. 






t^ 







^LlllMN. nil- UULNDLI) 






— V 






/* i ^ ^^v 










THE DIETRICH FARM. 




69 




CORPORAL JOHN H. WEEKS. 

I52D N. V. VOL, INFANTRY. 



THE SALIENT AT SPOTTSYLVANIA. 

THE Army of the Potomac, leaving its winter quarters 
at Brandy Station and Culpeper, with its shelter-tents 
folded on the top of the knapsacks, and its cartridge-boxes 
and haversacks well filled, had crossed the Rapidan River, 
for the last time, '' on to Richmond." 

For six days it had fought and marched through the 
Wilderness, and on May 11, 1864, had reached the neighbor- 
hood of Spottsylvania Court House, where General Lee, 
with the Army of Northern Virginia, barred the way. 

Never before had gigantic armies striven for the mas- 
tery in such dense forests, w^here in a single week forty 
thousand men had fallen, killed or wounded. 

The country from the Rapidan River to Spottsylvania 
Court House was an immense wood, with here and there a 
clearing or field that had in former years been cultivated 
for the raising of corn and tobacco. The male portion of 



62 THE SALIENT A T SPO TTSYL VANIA. 

the population had nearly all gone further south, leaving 
the women and a few negroes at home. 

There was a projection in General Lee's line a short dis- 
tance north of the Court House, which military men call 
'* The Salient." General Grant determined that an assault 
should be made at that point- He issued orders at 3 P.M. 
to '* move three divisions of the Second Corps by the rear 
of the Fifth and Sixth Corps, under cover of the night, so 
as to join the Ninth Corps in a vigorous assault on the 
enemy at four o'clock A.M., to-morrow." He sent two staff 
officers to impress upon the commanders concerned the 
necessity of pushing forward vigorously. 

How these orders were carried out is related in the fol- 
lowing pages by two soldiers of Hancock's Corps — one from 
a Pennsylvania and one from a New York regiment. These 
men received two out of the fifteen Medals of Honor 
awarded by the Government to Grant's army for distin- 
guished service at Spottsylvania. Their statements were 
contributed upon the invitation of the Editor. 

I. CORPORAL WEEKS' STORY* 

" On the night of the ilth of May, 1864, we were relieved 
by the 5th Corps at Laurel Ridge (or Stony Ridge, I have 
forgotten which) after dark, and moved out of the works, 
with instructions to move as silently as possible ; not to 
allow our cups or bayonets to rattle or make any unneces- 
sary noise. We marched all night through a cold rain, 

* JOHN H. Weeks was born at Hampton, Windom County, Connecticut, March 15, 1845. 
Enlisted as private, '' H " i52d N. Y. Volunteers, August 28, 1862. Served in Second 
Corps, Army of the Potomac, until discharged as corporal, for wounds. May 25, 1865. 



CORPORAL WEEKS'- STORY, ^^ 

until just before the break of day, on the morning of the 
1 2th, we were halted in line of battle, with orders to ' in 
place rest/ The report had been in circulation during the 
night that we were going to relieve the 6th Corps in the 
Reserve, that we might get a chance to rest, as we had 
been under fire constantly for six days ; and when we 
halted we could see the light of camp fires shining along 
the sky in our front, where we supposed were the 6th 
Corps. No sooner were we ordered to rest, than I threw 
myself down in the mud and fell asleep. In a Tew min- 
utes I was awakened by the tramp of a horse coming on a 
lope. I raised up and saw an aide ride to General Hancock 
(who happened to be near our right) and give the verbal 
order to the general, as near as I can remem.ber, as fol- 
lows : — ' Gen. Meade's compliments, and directs that you 
move your corps forward and occupy those works.* 

*'We were called to attention and ordered 'Forward, 
guide centre, march I ' Little did I think then what it 
would cost to obey that order, as I still thought it was the 
6th Corps in our front.* 

" We were in the second line of battle, following close 
behind the first, till soon the Reb skirmishers commenced 
firing. Then for the first I began to realize that we had 
work before us. It was now getting quite light, but the 
fog prevented us from seeing far in our advance. We soon 



* General Grant says, " The ground over which Hancock had to pass to reach the enemy 
was ascending, and heavily wooded to within two or three hundred yards of the enemy's 
intrenchments. In front of Birney there was also a marsh to cross. But notwithstand- 
ing all these difficulties the troops pushed on in quick time without firing a gun, and 
■vvhen within four or five hundred yards of the enemy's line broke out in loud cheers, and 
with a rush went up to and over the breastworks. Barlow and Birney entered almost 
simultaneously. Here a desperate hand-to-hand conflict took place. 



64 



THE SALIENT A T SPOTTSYL VANIA. 



came to an open field with a gradual ascent to near the top, 
where there had been heavy timber, which had been felled 
with the tops toward us and the boughs sharpened ; also 
wire stretched through the tree tops. Still beyond this 
obstruction were the enemy's works, which consisted of a 
ditch, eight feet wide and nearly as deep, with a row of 
sharpened stakes set in front, the points about breast high. 
Immediately in rear of the ditch were the breastworks, 
which were formed of the dirt thrown up from the ditch, 
making the distance from the bottom of the ditch to the 
top of the works from twelve to fourteen feet, without a 
chance of a foothold. 

" As soon as we came to the edge of the open field they 
opened on us with canister and musketry. The artillery 
had been massed at this point and all double-shotted with 
canister — thirty pieces, if I remember right. Such a 
storm of iron and lead I never saw before or since. It did 
not seem possible for a man to live to reach the crest of 
the hill and pass the obstructions ; but, as history tells, 
some did. But by the time we reached the ditch there 
was no line of battle, but a moving mass of yelling Yan- 
kees. We succeeded in wrenching the sharpened stalces 
from their places, and used them in crossing the ditch and 
scaling the works. When I think now of all the difficul- 
ties we had to overcome, with the flower of the rebel army 
behind such works pouring upon us a shower of lead, success 
seems impossible. It seemed to be an angle of their works 
where w^e made the charge, in shape of the letter V. Our 
right was on the left wing of the angle, so that when we 
got inside of the works we could still see the enemy on the 



The corps commander. 65 

right wing opposing our men there from entering. It 
brought us in their rear. When we had sent our prisoners 
to the rear we still advanced, but very slowly, on account of 
our broken ranks. 

'' I saw the enemy give way at this time on the right wing, 
and amongst the rest was a stand of colors and color-guard. 
These men fired their muskets in a volley, and broke for the 
rear. They had to pass down our front to get out of the 
angle, and would have succeeded, but I made up my mind, 
as soon as I saw them start, that I must have those colors. 
I had also fired my gun, but had no time to reload. I ran 
up to the sergeant and snatched his colors from him, threw 
them on the ground and put my foot on them, cocked my 
empty gun, and told them the first one of them that moved 
out of his tracks I would shoot him down, and ordered 
them to throw down their guns and surrender. The ser- 
geant said to them, ' Boys, they have got the colors, let us 
go with the colors ; * so they threw down their guns and 
marched to the rear as my prisoners. When I got back to 
our line. Col. Curtiss told me to take them away, for we 
might get driven back at any moment. 

*' I recrossed the works and started for our rear, when I 
met General Hancock and staff going to the front. As he 
passed I saluted him. He returned the salute, and said, 
'What have you got there?' I told him a stand of col- 
ors I had captured in the front. He then asked me if 
those were my prisoners. I told him they were. He 
looked at some of his staff and smiled (I thought at the 
time a little incredulously), for there were five or six lusty 
rebels and I was at that time about eighteen years old. 



e6 THE SALIENT A T SFO TTSYL VANIA. 

Then he said, ' You deliver your prisoners to the provost 
marshal and write your name, company and regiment with 
the date of the occasion on a slip of paper, and pin it on 
your colors, and turn them in to the adjutant of your regi- 
ment,' — which I did. 1 did not hear anything more about 
it till in the following winter when in Campbell Hospital, 
suffering from a wound received at the battle of Boydton 
Plank Road, on the left of Petersburg, I received a package. 
Upon opening it I found it to be a Medal of Honor." 




LIEUT. CHARLES H. FASNACHT, 

KINETV-NINTH PENNSYLVANIA INFANTRY. 

11. SERGEANT FASNACHT'S ADVENTURES.* 

"On the evening of the eleventh day of May, 1864, the 
Ninety-ninth Regiment Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteers 



* Charles H. FASNACHTwas born March 27, 1842, in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. 
Enlisted in t86i, in the Ninety-ninth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers for three years. 
Re-enlisted February, 1864. Served continuously with his regiment, excepting seven 
months in hospital from wounds received at Chancellorsville and Spottsylvania. Pro- 
moted corporal and sergeant and mustered out of service, with regiment, as first lieuten- 
ant July, 1865. Received the Medal of Honor; Silver Medal from the Directors of th» 
U. S. Sanitary Fair at Philadelphia in 1864 ; and the Bronze " Kearney Badges 



THE NINETY-NINTH PENNSYLVANIA. 



67 



was lying back to the right of Spottsylvania Court House, 
Virixinia. The men were somewhat exhausted, havinp; had 
fighting and marching in the Wilderness since the 5th day 
of May. Rations were issued between seven and eight 
o'clock P.M. About nine o'clock P.M. the troops of the 
2d Brigade, Brigadier-General J. Hobart Ward, 3d Di- 
vision (Birney), Second Corps (Hancock), received orders to 
fall in, and shortly afterward the march to the left com- 
menced. 

'' The Ninety-ninth was commanded by Colonel Edwin R. 
Biles, and was the leading regiment of the division, being 
preceded by Generals Birney and Ward, with their staff 
officers, and the pioneer corps. The night was very dark, 
and rain was falling nearly all the time. The men had 
orders to keep very quiet, and allow no noise from the 
rattling of canteens or other equipments. The rank-and- 
file had an idea that the Second Corps was marching for 
some vulnerable point of the enemy's line, and that as 
Birney's Division (composed of what was left of the old 
Third Corps) was leading, it meant that on the morrow 
desperate work was before us. 

'^Nothing occurred during this weary march until after 
midnight. We could hear, now and then, all through the 
night, away off to our left, the soldiers of Lee chopping 
wood ; while away off to our right could be heard the 
rumbling noise of artillery. The quiet and stillness of this 
steady march through rain and mud w^as almost unbear- 
able. Some of the men were tramping along almost 
asleep ; in fact, on several occasions muskets dropped from 
the shoulders of weary men. Now and then a comrade 



gg The salient a t seo tts yl vaat/a, 

would ask in a whisper, ' What does this mean ? ' ot^ 
' Where are we going? ' But no answer could be given, as 
no one knew, except only those high in command. 

" Goitipany A of our regiment was leading, and kept well 
closed lip to Colonel Biles, who was just behind the staff of 
Generals Birhey and Ward. And as we were thus march- 
ing silently along, with a soldier's steady tramp, suddenly 
the horses and their riders in our front came back pell mell, 
scattering the men in every direction. Every man grasped 
his musket more tightly, with hand on trigger, believing 
the enemy was at hand. The cause of this stampede was 
soon discovered. A soldier in the pioneer corps in front 
had accidentally discharged his musket, which scared horses, 
Staff officers and others who were nean It must have been 
between one and two o'clock, on the morning of May 12, 
when the head of our column arrived at its place of destina- 
tion, and our company commenced to ' right by file into 
line ; ' and for a long while after, the troops were passing 
in our rear and forming in line to our left, with our regi- 
ment on the extreme right of our corps. The ground was 
wet and all around was darkness. The men in the ranks had 
no idea, as yet, of what was to be done in the morning. But 
the veteran soldiers who composed that line knew by instinct 
that daylight would see heavy fighting. With this belief, the 
men were soon ' lying on their arms,' dreaming of home 
and loved ones. The writer hereof was in ' light marching 
order,' having nothing but haversack, canteen and rubber 
blanket, besides his trusty Springfield musket. So with 
my rubber blanket wrapped around me, a soft spot in rear 
of the company was found, where I also was soon lost 



AN EARLY MORNING WALK. 69 

in dreamland. About four o'clock in the morning I was 
awakened by being punched in the ribs with an officer's 
sword, and hearing a rustling noise, and low talk of the 
officers and men in my front. Jumping to my feet I dis- 
covered that the line was commencing to move forward. 

**The men were told that we were advancing to charge 
the enemy's works, supposed to be three-fourths of a mile 
in our front, but which could not be seen from our starting- 
point. Colonel Biles also ordered the men not to fire a 
shot or give a cheer until we were inside the rebel earth- 
works; this was to take the enemy by surprise. At start- 
ing, we advanced through a swamp, overgrown with briers 
and small trees. After going about one-third of a mile we 
came out into a clearing on high ground. The line by 
this time being somewhat out of shape, it was straightened 
while still advancing. It was now daylight, and the en- 
emy's works could be seen about one-third of a mile in 
our front, running along the edge of the woods, parallel 
with our advancing line of battle. 

'' These works looked formidable at that distance, and 
proved so, later on, when we crossed them. A great many 
low camp-fires were burning in the woods behind the 
enemy't, line, while still others were being started ; no 
doubt to dry clothing and to prepare for an early breakfast. 
The smoke of these fires, mingled with the fog, was hover- 
ing a few feet from the ground. What force the enemy 
had could not be known, as only here and there a sentry 
could be seen on the intrenchments ; nor did anyone in 
our line have time to scan very closely. 

" As our line came out in this open ground, where it got a 



;o 



THE SALIENT A T SPOTTSYL VAiVIA. 



glimpse of the rebel earthworks, some soldier away off to 
our left, who could not hold in any longer, gave a cheer. 
It was against orders, but it started the cheering along our 
whole line, and the rebel pickets commenced to fire on us, 
while the enemy was seen to rush up to their works. But 
our line swept on. Colonel Biles told us now that the faster 
we went, and the quicker we got over the enemy's works, 
the better it would be for us. 

CAPTURING A FLAG AT SPOTTSYLVANIA. 

' The assaulting column was composed of Birney's Divis- 
ion on the right. Barlow's Division on the left, with Mott 
and Gibbon's divisions supporting ; my company (A), 99th 
P. V. v., being on the extreme right of the line. As we 
advanced, it was discovered that on our right there was a 
gap in the line, which was afterward filled up by troops (I 
think) of the Sixth Corps. 

" When the colonel gave the order to get over the enemy's 
works, the regiment started on 'the double-quick.' At 
this time, and while yet five hundred yards distant, a rebel 
flag was raised over the works right in front of my com- 
pany. The man holding it, waved it to and fro, as if invit- 
ing us to come on. Long before this I had an ambition to 
capture a rebel flag in actual battle ; not to pick it up from 
where, perhaps, it had been lost by its bearer, who being 
shot down had left it on the ground ; I wanted to be able 
to say that it was actually a captured ^dig. 

" I was behind the company as a ' file closer,' being a 
sergeant at the time. I ran around the right and in front 
of the company. We had swept the enemy's pickets from 



THE ASSAULT. 



71 



before us ; the rebels were crowdin^^^ to their works ; their 
fire was getting very warm, and opposite the gap on our 
right the enemy had a battery which opened a flank fire on 
OLir regiment. By this time the Ninety-ninth was pretty 
close to the enemy's works, and their strength was evident. 
In times like this every man in the ranks must, for the time, 
be a general himself ; that is, he must be brave, use good 
judgment, make up his mind in a moment, and take advan- 
tage of every opportunity to overcome the enemy. In 
short, it is only when each private soldier is doing his whole 
duty, feeling the responsibility resting upon himself, that 
the general commanding wmII have his orders executed and 
his plans crowned with success. 

''As we came nearer, the enemy's fire was very heavy, the 
ditch, about eight or ten feet wide in front of the w^orks, 
being nearly filled with water from the rain in the night. 
In front of the ditch limbs of trees had been placed, making 
a strong abatis. When our regiment came to this, the 
enemy's fire was making great gaps in our ranks, but we 
pressed on, tore away the obstructions, and jumped into 
the ditch (the water being over two feet deep at this point) 
and commenced to scale the w^orks. The rebel flag was 
still held up and waved, until just as I was about on top of 
the works calling to the color-bearer to surrender, and mak- 
ing a grab for it, the rebel sergeant, with several other sok 
diers, started off on a run up on the inside of the works. 
At this hour the smoke and fog were still near the ground 
in the woods, and one could see but a very short distance 
ahead. Tents to shelter the men from the rain, during the 
night, had been made hastily with blankets and canvas. 



72 THE SALIENT A T SPOTTSYL VANIA. 

'* Thus it was not only impossible to see far into the 
dense woods, but it was hard to get through and over these 
obstructions. On account of the cheering of our men and 
the delay in starting, the enemy was aware of our move- 
ment before we got over his works. But the charge was 
still a surprise to many of them, and a grand result in the 
end, for we took over six thousand prisoners. The Confed- 
erate general, Ewell, made a narrow escape from capture.* 

'' When I jumped over the works I was followed by our 
whole regiment, Colonel Biles being right behind me. 
What a sight to behold ! Confusion all around. While 
many of the enemy had rallied to the works, numbers of 
them were found in their rude shelter-tents. Some were 
without their equipments ; they were firing in every direc- 
tion. Some had just begun to get their breakfast ; others 
would shoot through their tents. Our men tore down 
everything giving shelter to the enemy, using the butt-end 
of the musket and the bayonet. Our men seemed to be 
possessed of superhuman strength and a determination to 
conquer or die, right then and there. No one seemed to 
see or fear danger, and yet we were right in the midst of it, 
men falling all around us. 

" Immediately after our regiment had crossed the first 
line of works, Colonel Biles made a half-wheel to the right 
with the regiment, intending to move up and capture a bat- 
tery the enemy had there. 

* " Hancock's corps captured some 4000 prisoners — among them a division and brigade 
commander— 20 or more guns with their horses, caissons and ammunition, several thou- 
sand stand of arms and many colors. Hancock, as soon as the hand-to-hand conflict was 
over, turned the guns of the enemy against him, and advanced inside the rebel lines. 
About six o'clock I ordered Warren's Corps to the support of Hancock."— G^e-w, Granfs 
Metnoirs, 



CAPTURING A FLAG. m* 

" From the time that I first saw that rebel flag waving so 
defiantly in our faces, my sole object was to get it, and to 
that end all my energies were brought in play. So after I 
was inside of the works I took in the situation in a moment. 
Knowing the direction of our line of battle toward the left, 
and the open gap on our right, I concluded that the rebel 
color-bearer would try to escape by running up towards the 
right, and then cutting through the woods. I started on 
the run. diagonally through the woods, intending to head 
off the color-bearer. The distance I had to go would be 
shorter than his, and as one could see but a very short 
distance through smoke, fog and woods, I lost sight of the 
Hag for a few minutes. But I had run probably one hun- 
dred and fifty yards over all kinds of obstructions, when my 
calculations proved correct ; for suddenly right in front of 
me, through a clump of trees, came this same color-bearer, 
carrying aloft his flag, and behind him were five or six sol- 
diers, his color-guard. I brought my musket to my shoul- 
der, with hand on trigger, and as he did not see me as 
soon as I saw him, he ran ahnost up against my bayonet 
before he stopped. True, my musket was empty at this 
time, but the muzzle of an empty gun at such close quar- 
ters looks almost as dangerous as a loaded one, and he did 
not know but that it was loaded. The men behind him 
might have shot me down, but for some reason did not. 

*' So when we met at that instant I demanded his surren- 
der and the flag; he asked me not to shoot and reached the 
flag towards me. I did not lower my musket, but let the 
flag fall at my feet, and told him to go to my rear, which he 
did with his companions, who dropped their arms, I have 



74 THE SA LIE NT A T SPO TTS YL VA NT A. 

often, since then, wondered why the men behind Liin did not 
shoot, but I suppose they were in the same fix as myself ; 
that is, their muskets were empty. When the color-bearer, 
who was a man fully six feet tall, had passed to my rear I 
placed my foot on the staff and tore the flag off. It was a 
flag inscribed with many battles, and the words ' 2d Louisi- 
ana Tigrcs! — a good fighting regiment in the Southern 
army, and one that we had met on many a battlefield 
before. While crowding the flag into my bosom under my 
blouse, absorbed in what I was doing, I cared little for what 
was taking place around me. I heard some one say, ' You 
had better let me have that.' On turning my head I dis- 
covered my colonel, for the first time, about twelve yards 
behind me, and about as many yards in front of the regi- 
ment ; he had taken the same direction with the regiment 
as I had. When I saw from whom came the voice, I gave 
him such a look (continuing to stow the flag away) that in 
after years he told me that he saw very plainly I did not 
wish to part with my prize, and he therefore told me to 
keep it. 

WITH THE WOUNDED UNDER FIRE. 

" By this time the regiment had advanced some distance 
to a line of works running at right angles from the first to 
the second line of defence, behind which the enemy had ral- 
lied to the support of some artillery. Our regiment at this 
time was on the flank and rear of these pieces, and the 
enemy, seeing the hopelessness of holding out, just as we 
were about charging, raised white flags, in the shape of 
handkerchiefs and pieces of tents, in token of surrender. 



WOUNDED AND UNDER FIRE. yi^ 

We called out to them to come over the works without 
their arms, and they embraced the opportunity as fast as 
possible. At this time a heavy fire from the second line of 
works was opened on us, while quite a large number who 
had been driven before us took refuge on the outside of 
the first line, and were also firing into us."^ Just as I had 
stepped back a few feet to make room for these men who 
were surrendering, a volley from the enemy on our right 
and front was poured into us, killing and wounding a large 
number. I fell shot, by a minie-ball, in my left leg at the 
knee joint. Brave Captain Lewis F. Waters of ' I,' and 
Lieutenant Henry S. Zeisert of ' D,' both fell alongside of 
me, instantly killed. 

'* I was picked up and carried back to the first line we had 
crossed, where Sergeants McGrann and Ursprung took me 
further back about one-half mile, when our provost-guard 
was met ; they ordered all the wounded, who could not 
walk, to be laid on the ground, and the carriers to return to 
their regiments. The men with the stretchers were not up 
yet, and we remained in this clearing for an hour or more. 
This one hour seemed an entire day, surrounded as I was 
by several hundred wounded men who could not walk. 
We laid on the bare ground like so many sheaves of wheat, 
unable to move or get out of reach of the enemy's shells 
and solid shot that were striking the ground all around us, 
their artillery having a good range of this part of the field. 



* " Lee made the most strenuous efTorts to regain the position he had lost. Troops 
were brought up and attacked Hancock furiously. Hancock was forced to fall back; but 
he did so slowly, with his face to the enemy, inflicting on them heavy loss, until behind 
the breastworks he had captured. These he turned, facing them the other way, and con- 
tinued to hold," — Gen. Grant'' s Memoirs. 



^6 THE SALIENT A T SPO TTS YL VA NIA . 

With all my pain I couldn't help but smile at some of the 
odd expressions and ludicrous scenes, when a shell or solid 
shot would strike close to some unfortunate and scatter the 
dust all around. Some would berate the provost-guard, 
severely, for leaving us lying there, to be scared to death if 
not killed outright by the enemy's missiles ; others, with 
mangled arms or legs, would try and roll themselves away 
from a shell or round shot, as it struck the ground near 
them, making some witty remark. 

'' No pen can fully describe, nor pencil do justice to, this 
scene ; several acres of ground covered with wounded sol- 
diers, enduring untold pain, without attention or medical 
treatment, and under the constant fire of the enemy's 
artillery. It must be borne in mind that the bravest of the 
brave under such circumstances will weaken, and wish for a 
place of safety. 

'' At last, after an hour or so, the stretcher-bearers came, 
and I was taken away from this place to an ambulance, and 
driven to the rear, about two miles, to a little grove. On 
one side of this grove ran a small stream of water, and on 
the other a road, an open field beyond the road, a cornfield 
on the other side of the stream, a little rise or hill in our 
rear, and in front a heavy woods into which the road 
entered. These were the surroundings of the place where 
I was doomed to remain a prisoner for five days. 

*' It was probably a little after noon when we were brought 
to this place. There was great activity all the afternoon in 
loading up the wounded into ambulances, and toward even- 
ing heavy army wagons were used. As darkness had set in 
I saw the last wagon filled and drive away, as they said, fpr 



CAPTIVITY ON THE BA TTLEFIELD. 



77 



Fredericksburg Hospital. It now dawned upon me that I 
was one of the unfortunate two hundred and twenty who 
were doomed to remain, for we were soon told by a surgeon 
that one hospital steward and ten men were left in charge 
of us ; that we should try and be contented and see what 
would turn up in our favor; that he would do all he could 
to make us as comfortable as lay in his power. The sur- 
geon (whose name I have forgotten) had but a small 
amount of stores with him, and could give but little medi- 
cal treatment to us ; he and his men were busy day and 
night carrying water and food to us ; besides, they had to 
dig graves and bury, on an average, ten of our number 
daily. 

CAPTIVITY ON THE BATTLEFIELD. 

'* On the morning of May 13, about nine o'clock, a brigade 
of Confederate cavalry, under General Rosser (since Engineer 
of the Northern Pacific R. R.), and known as the ' Laurel 
Brigade ' (their badge being a sprig of green pinned on 
the left breast), came marching over the brow of the hill 
behind us. My place being quite close to the road, I heard 
the general give orders to one of his aides not to allow his 
men to go among the wounded, nor to disturb anything. 
But as soon as the head of the column had disappeared in 
the woods, the Confederates swarmed in' among us, asking 
all manner of questions, and teasing us with the assurance 
that soon the Army of the Potomac would be driven back 
across the Rappahannock River. But we were rather out- 
spoken in telling them that a new commander, * GRANT,* 
\yas at the head of our army, and that there would be ng 



;3 THE SALIENT A T SPOTTSYL VANIA. 

retreat and no stop this side of Richmond. None of our 
wounded were molested, but the newcomers took nearly all 
the meat, sugar and coffee that had been left for us. 

" The evening before, we could hear firing until late at 
n'ght, and this morning the firing seemed further away; we 
were now told that we were outside of our lines, and that 
our army had moved further on towards Lee's right. After 
the Confederate cavalry had passed out of sight, into the 
woods, I concluded to look at my rebel flag, which was still 
in my bosom, not having looked at it since the day before, 
I asked the hospital steward to assist me. I had on at the 
time a short army blouse, made for me the winter previous 
by a Philadelphia tailor. It was lined throughout and filled 
in with cotton wadding. I took off my blouse and secreted 
the flag under a piece of old army blanket and placed it 
under my legs. We next opened the lining at the back of 
the blouse and pulled out all the wadding, then stuffed the 
rebel flag in and pinned up the lining, after which I put on 
the blouse ; and no one could notice it, except that I ap- 
peared rather stout. We had to be very careful while doing 
this so that no one could see the flag, especially the six 
wounded Confederates, who were lying about one hundred 
feet away from me. I was afraid that if the rebel soldiers 
should find it out they would take the flag away from me ; 
and as I had no other place to hide it, and as it was a 
trophy that I prized very highly, I determined to keep it 
with me as long as I possibly could. 

** We had barely got through with our work when we heard 
scattered musketry in the direction the Confederate cavalry 
had taken, and in a very short time the whole brigade came 



''THE LAUREL BRIGADE.'' 79 

back pell mell ; the road not being wide enough, many of 
the cavalry came through the woods and brought back with 
them several wounded men. They had been gone only two 
or three hours, and all that we could find out as to their 
sudden return was that after they had gone out several 
miles they came across some of the Union cavalry, who 
drove them back. After this episode. General Rosser, with 
his brigade, made his camp right alongside of us in the open 
field, and remained four or five days. Their of^cers paid 
frequent visits to our wounded, conversing with us, and 
paying a good deal of attention to their own six wounded 
who lay amongst us. These Confederate officers told us 
that they were only camped there for the purpose of captur- 
ing our ambulances that would be sent there for us, and 
that then they would take us in our own wagons to Rich- 
mond. We were anxious to find out what would be our 
fate, and this was certainly bad news to us. The horrors of 
Libby Prison, Belle Isle, Andersonville and other Southern 
prisons, arose before us in their vivid forms, and I made up 
my mind that death would be my fate if I was taken on to 
Richmond. For three years past I had been striving with 
thousands of other Northern soldiers to get to the Confed- 
erate capital, and now that in all probability an opportunity 
would be given to go there I did not wish to accept it. I 
set my wits together to devise some plan whereby I could 
outflank this latest of Confederate movements on my lib- 
erty. I had some hopes that our cavalry would come in 
there after General Rosser, and find us and take us away. 
But five long, weary days passed and no sign of a Union 



go THE SALIENT A T STOTTSVL VAMIA. 

soldier coming from any direction. Was it any Wondef 
then that despondency took possession of all of us? 

Deliverance. 

^^ On the afternoon of the fifth day of our captivity, several 
Confederate officers came among us and told us to be pre- 
pared to leave by next morning, as they would then bring 
their own conveyances and take us away. During these 
days I had planned out a course to take, and now I had but 
a few hours to make my preparations. I again called on 
the hospital steward, and told him my plan ; that he was to 
get me two small limbs with forks on them, and by wrap- 
ping pieces of old blankets around them I would make use 
of them for crutches. That in the night I would try and 
drag myself across the little run of water and into the corn- 
field, where I would hide myself until the Confederate cav- 
alry had departed with the wounded. I would then get out 
of the cornfield and run my chances of being picked up by 
some Union cavalry, or die in my effort to escape rather 
than go a wounded prisoner to Richmond. The hospital 
steward listened to my plan, told me it was risky, but he 
would assist me all he could, and wished me success. Be- 
fore dark, that evening, I was ready for my undertaking. 
But * man proposes and God disposes,' for while I was 
worrying my brain over what would be my fate in the next 
few days, a movement by some of our troops was being ex- 
ecuted for our rescue. 

" It seems that our situation had been made known to 
army headquarters, and a small division of infantry (I think 
it was Mott's White Diamond Division), and a battery of 



bUT OF BONDAGE. ^i 

artillery were on their way to our relief, and just before 
sunset, while sitting on the ground with my back against a 
tree, a wounded soldier, lying not far from me, cried out 
loud enough for all of us to hear him : ' Look up there on 
the hill ! ' Turning my head and looking towards the hill, 
I saw that a piece of artillery was unlimbering, and the in- 
fantry were moving up to support it, when several other 
pieces were run Up and placed in position. But the first 
piece fired one shot into General Rosser's cavalry before 
they knew that there were any Union troops near. The 
echo of the first shot had not died away before three more 
pieces were firing in rapid succession. In the Confederate 
camp all was confusion ; horses tore loose, officers were 
calling to the men, and everybody was looking out for his 
own safety. And it took General Rosser and his men but 
a very short time to get away from that place, and their 
speed was accelerated by the Union shot and shell. Never 
before nor since did I experience such real happiness as at 
that moment, when these friends, wearing the loyal blue 
uniform, came marching under the Stars and Stripes so 
unexpectedly to our rescue. There were wounded soldiers 
among our number, more dead than alive, who would rise up 
and faintly cheer at the sight of the old flag and friends, and 
then fall back exhausted, weeping for joy. Men grasped 
each other by the hand, and with tears in their eyes praised 
God for this unexpected deliverance. Yet in our feeble 
condition we tried to give a few parting words to General 
Rosser's men, as they so hastily took their departure. We 
twitted them on their unceremonious going away without 
us ; asked them how soon they would return ; but they paid 



S2 THE SALIENT A T SPO TTS YL VANIA. 

no heed to our remarks, and in a very few minutes they 
had all disappeared, leaving behind a few wounded and 
prisoners. In less than one half hour ambulances were 
driven up and we were carefully lifted into them, so that by 
eight o'clock that evening the last Union wounded soldier 
had been loaded and the ambulance train with its escort was 
ready to start for Fredericksburg. As already stated, there 
were two hundred and twenty of us who were brought here, 
but about fifty had died. 

''It was about eight o'clock on the evening of May i6 
that our train started. I had been placed on the seat with 
the driver, with my leg in a swing, and tied to the roof of 
the ambulance, and in driving along that night through the 
darkness, over rough roads, the wheels would strike a rut 
or stone and give my leg a jerk that would send the pain all 
through my body, and jolt those lying in behind, who would 
hurl uncomplimentary remarks at the driver, for causing 
them so much pain. About nine o'clock the next morning 
our train arrived at Fredericksburg, where it was intended 
to place us in hospitals; but all the houses that could be 
made use of were already filled with the wounded from the 
Wilderness. 

■ MINISTERING ANGELS. 

** We were then given coffee and bread, and after some 
delay our ambulance train was started off across the Rappa- 
hannock River, towards ' Belle Plain,' on the Potomac River, 
where we arrived early that evening. It was about nine 
o'clock that evening when I was carried on board of a barge 
which was afterwards towed out to a large Government 



MtNlSTEKING ANGELS. 



83 



boat in the middle of the stream. Shortly after, I was laid 
on the barge, where a few flickering lamps shed their dim 
light. I could hear sweet voices, followed by some of the 
ladies of the ' Sanitary Commissions.' These ^ minister- 
ing angels,' with lint, medicines, brandy, milk-punch and 
sandwiches, went from cot to cot, attending to the 
wounded and speaking words of good cheer. Surely the 
sick and wounded soldiers can never repay the debt of 
gratitude they owe to the loyal and patriotic women of the 
North, for the good work done by them in hospital and in 
camp during the dark days of the war. 

" During the night, our barge was towed out in the middle 
of the river alongside of the large steam-boat, to which its 
load of wounded was transferred, being placed on stretchers 
in rows, making several hundred in all. The flag attracted 
a great deal of attention in the hospital at Washington. 
One gentleman, when he saw it unfolded, with the name 
and number of the regiment it belonged to printed on its 
stripes, ' Second Louisiana Infantry, C. S. A.,' said he was 
in New Orleans in April, 1861, when this same flag was pre- 
sented to the regiment. At the Armory Square Hospital, 
to which I was taken, a screen was put up, a tub of water 
brought, and a good bath given me. During this process 
the surgeon came with a large glass of brandy and told me 
to drink it, and it seems to me, even at this late day, that 
was the best drink I ever tasted. T was now dressed with 
clean under-clothing, and placed in a bed on the right hand 
side, next to the entrance door, with my flag fastened on 
to the wall over my head ; and under the influence of what 
I had been drinking, and the sweet strains of music coming 



§4 



TliE SALIENT A T SPO TTSYL VANlA. 



from a piano at the other end of the ward, I forgot my 

pain, and was soon lost in slumber. After going through 

with what I had the previous two weeks, I indeed now felt 

as if I was in Paradise. 

^ ^ -vf ^ -x- * * 

" After remaining in hospital at Washington and Philadel- 
phia for nearly seven months, I rejoined my regiment in 
the fteld and served with it continuously until the close of 
the war." 




THE WILDERNESS — A YEAR AFTER. 




LIEUT THOMAS I'ARKE GKRE, 

FIFTH MINNESOTA INFANTRY. 



THE VICTORS AND THE SPOILS. 

IT was upon a crisp, bright day in February, 1865, that an 
interesting scene might have been witnessed in the War 
Department at Washington. 

The place itself was one of the lions which all pilgrims to 
the Shrine of the Constitution thought it the correct thing 
to visit. 

Young officers, who for the first time entered it on oflfi- 
cial business, did not entirely " leave Hope behind," but 
they were conscious of a chill in the region of the back- 
bone as the old green leather doors swung to behind them. 
The corridors were dark and damp, and had a musty odor 
from the tons of red-taped official papers which filled the 
countless pigeon-holes. And the messengers, sitting on 
guard at the doors of the various bureaux, had a stern and 

8? 




BATTLE RELICS. 



S6 



THE OLD WAR OFFICE. 



87 



mysterious air, befitting men filled with plans of battles 
and secrets of the Council Chamber. 

There are pleasant memories, also, of the ancient struct- 
ure ; of the time when the stone-llagged halls echoed the 
ponderous tread of General Scott, with the front of Mars 
himself; or resounded with the stride of General Harney, 
the military gladiator of his time ; or reflected the jingle of 
Charlie Ma}''s spurs, or rang with the jolly laugh of old 
Ben Beall, of the dragoons, as he bandied jests with Prince 
John Magruder, of the artillery, careless of the coming 
"chestnut bell." While, later on, the clank of Custer's 
sabre and Sheridan's quick footfalls mingled with the run- 
ning to and fro of orderlies, and the tinkle of the great 
Secretary's little bell. 

But the quaint, ark-shaped edifice has been torn down, 
and in its place has arisen an official palace of marble and 
iron and mahogany. In the new order of things one is not 
impressed, as in the olden time, with the Spartan simplicity 
which belongs to the God of War. 

I. NASHVILLE TROPHIES. 

Within the large reception-room of the War Department 
there had assembled, on the day already mentioned, about 
one hundred persons. 

They had been summoned by the Secretary of War to 
take part in the ceremony of receiving certain Confederate 
battle-flags captured at the battles before Nashville, in 
December, 1864. 

In the centre of the room were grouped fifteen gallant 
jnen who, in hand-to-hand co;nbat, bad perilled their lives 
7 



SS THE VICTORS AND THE SPOILS. 

to secure as trophies the tattered banners now proudly 
borne as spoils of war. These were generally young men 
- — some of them mere boys — whose bronzed faces were 
flushed with pride and excitement. In front of these, and 
in a sort of horseshoe formation, was another party. Sena- 
tors and Representatives, war governors, members of foreign 
legations, a cabinet minister, the Adjutant-general of the 
Army, and other distinguished personages had taken a half 
hour from their public duties to do honor to these brave 
Western soldiers. 

The spacious room had been cleared of furniture. Near 
the walls, on three sides, were arranged in continuous line a 
number of muskets, '' stacked." Suddenly the hum of con- 
versation ceased, and a short, stout man with square shoul- 
ders, and wearing eye-glasses, stepped out between the sol- 
diers and the civilians and unfolded a paper. This was the 
famous cabinet minister, whose name will always be asso- 
ciated with troublous times — our " Reign of Terror." He 
read as follows : 

Headquarters, Department of the Cumberland, 
Nashville, Tenn., Feb. 13, 1865. 
Special Field Orders, No. 38. 
(Extract:) 
XIX. By virtue of permission received from the Honorable Secretary of War, the fol- 
lowinfj named officers and enlisted men, captors of rebel battle-flags, at the battles of 
Franklin, Nov. 30, 1864, and the battles before Nashville, Dec. 15 and 16, 1864, will pro- 
ceed with the trophies to Washington, D. C, where they will report to the Honorable 
Secretary of War, turning over to him the flags now in their possession, after which they 
will rejoin their various commands in the field. 

The detachment will be in charge of ist Lieut, and Adjt. Thomas P. Gere, 5th Regt. 
Minn. Vet. Vol. Inf., who will be accountable for their good conduct while en route. 
The Qr. M. Depmt. will furnish the necessary transportation. 

ist Lt. (Adjt.) Thos. P. Gere, 5th Minn. V. V. Infantry, 
ist Lt. O. Colwell, " G" 95th Ohio V. Infantry, 
ist Lt. C. H. McCleary, " C " 72d Ohio V. Infantry. 
1st Lt. W. T. Simmons, " C " nth Mo. Vol. Infantry. 
Sergt. A. Ramsbottom, " K " 97th O. V. Infantry. 
Sergt. W. Garrett, 41st O. V, Infantry. 



THOMAS PARKE GERE. g^ 

Corpl./- '''• Pctrlcs, " F " nth Mo. Vol. Infantry. 
Corpl. L. P. Koltenback, " F " 12th Iowa Vol. Infantry. 
Corpl. G. IV. Welch, "A" nth Mo. Vol. Infantry. 
Corpl. F. Carr, "D " 124th O. Vol. Infantry. 
Private O. W. Smith, " G " 95th O. V. Infantry. 
Private W. May, " H " 32d Iowa V. Infantry. 
Private G. Stokes, "C" i22d Ills. V. Infantry. 
Private yl./. Sloan, " H " 12th Iowa V. Infantry. 
Private Win. F. Moore, " C " 117th Ills. V. Infantry. 
Private D.J. Holcomb, " A " 41st Ohio V. Infantry. 
Corpl. //. Collins, 1st Tenn. Cavalry. 

By command of Major-General THOMAS, 

Wm. D. Whipple, Asst. Adjt. Gcnl. 

Lieutenant Gere's name was called. A slender and 
earnest-looking young man advanced, flag in hand, and 
made these remarks : "''" 

''Mr. Secretary : I have the honor and pleasure to present 
to you the colors of the 4th Mississippi Infantry, C. S. A. 

" The capture was due, and should be credited, to the 
valor of the soldiers of Hubbard's Brigade, McArthur's 
Division of A. J. Smith's detachment, Army of Tennessee. 
It was the result of the final charge upon the enemy's 
works by that invincible command in the second day's bat- 
tle. Every soldier who participated in that assault shares 
the credit of the captured colors. 

" This brigade had a^ record previous to Nashville, and 
its services had been recognized in the promotion of its 
former lion-hearted leader, Joseph A. Mower, to be a major- 
general. 

'' Smith's detachment, ten thousand strong, made up 
from the Fifteenth and Seventeenth Army Corps, after fol- 



* Thomas Parke Gere was originally mustered as a private, Co. " B," Fifth Regiment 
Minnesota Infantry, Jan. 17, 1862, aged ig ; appointed ist sergeant, March 6, 1862; 2d 
lieutenant, March 14, 1862 ; ist lieutenant, August 20, 1862 ; regt. adjutant, March 19, 
1863 ; brigade adjutant, March 7, 1864 ; discharged, April 5, by reason of expiration of 
term of service, 



go THE VICTORS AND THE SPOILS. 

lowinsf the fortunes of Grant and Sherman from Shiloh to 
Vicksburg, was, much to its regret, made an orphan by the 
order lending it for sixty days to the Red River expedition, 
but emerged with undimmed record from that campaign 
to join in the long chase of Price and Marmaduke '^" through 
Arkansas and Missouri, and arrived at Nashville just in 
time to take position as the right of the army confronting 
Hood. 

" Advancing south-westerly on the morning of December 
15, from the Charlottesville Pike, in echelon, by brigades, the 
enemy was soon encountered and steadily driven, through 
continuous fighting, some three miles south ; at night our 
front was to the east within one-fourth mile of the Granny 
White Pike, our pickets on that road, and the enemy's left 
flank was completely enveloped. During the night he 
extended his line to the west some distance beyond our 
position, again fronting north ; to meet which dispositions 
our front was, on the morning of the i6th, changed to the 
south, and our portion of the line advanced to within three 
hundred yards of his position. Hubbard's Brigade, its left 
now on the Granny White Pike, just north of the Brent- 
wood Hills, was in an open field, protected only by such 
works as the soldier had learned to hastily construct under 
fire. The enemy's line was behind a stone wall, in front of 
which during the preceding night he had constructed a 
strong ditch and abatis ; and between us only a cornfield. 
Our batteries took position on higher ground to our rear, 
and opened upon the enemy's line. The enemy's batteries 

* See " Capturing a Major-General," p. 107. 



BATTLE OF NASHVILLE. OI 

in our front were in his main line, but the short distance 
between the Hnes prevented any exposure whatever. 
These rekitive positions were maintained until about 3.30 
P.M., at which time we received the order to assault. Elo- 
quent speakers have detailed the history of the succeeding 
minutes that made the soft cornfield * the battle's gory 
meadow.' 

" The command swept through the carnage, over the 
works, capturing everything. In forming for the assault 
in two lines an interval was left between our brigade and 
the troops on our right, which subjected the brigade to an 
enfilading fire, but by sheer momentum the assaulting col- 
umn cut straight through and landed beyond the opposing 
line. Quickly discerning that the enemy in this interven- 
ing space were our prisoners, we sw^ept down their flank, 
pushing them to our rear. This is where the capture of 
these colors took place." I reached the works near the 
right of the brigade, but my horse could not cross the 
abatis and wall ; so with the troops hurrying along the 
enemy's works to our right we came upon the colors. I 
was a little in advance in this movement. The color-bearer 
leaped over the works toward our rear with the others, 
leaving the colors behind the works. I could not reach 
them, but compelled him to recross and deliver the flag. 

" That second day's battle at Nashville was the most 
complete rout of the enemy that I ever witnessed, and had 
the assault taken place as early as noon I don't think any- 
thing could have prevented the capture of Hood's entire 

* AIJ that follows is taken from a recent letter (Aug-., 1886) written by Lieut, Gere, 



g2 THE VICTORS AND THE SPOILS. 

army ; but it was wet and misty and soon became dark. 
The Rebs were completely broken up by that charge ; they 
were tired and hungry, and did not offer much opposition 
to capture after the works were reached. I carried a 
^ revolver ' in hand during the melee, and as everybody 
was * shooting quite promiscuously ' they complied very 
promptly with our orders to move to our rear. I had been 
slightly wounded in the right wrist the day before, but for- 
got about it until the excitement was over." 

Lieut. Gere also delivered to the Secretary, on behalf of 
Lieut. Charles McCleary, who was absent, the flag of 
the 4th Florida Regiment. McCleary, being in advance of 
the Union line of battle, came upon the rebel color-bearer 
and color-guard. He called upon them to surrender, which 
they at first declined to do ; but, as he insisted, they finally 
yielded and were made his prisoners. 

Lieut. Oliver Colwell's trophy was also handed in by 
Mr. Gere. 

Lieut. William T. Simmons presented the flag of the 
24th Louisiana. 

Sergeant Alfred Ramsbottom gave into the Secre- 
tary's hands the flag of the 2d Mississippi regiment, taken 
only after a hand-to-hand conflict. 

Sergeant WiLLIAM Garrett turned in the flag of the 
13th Mississippi. 

Corporals James W. Parks and Luther B. Kalten 
BACK each brought forward a captured color ; the last 
named that of the 44th Mississippi. 

Corporal G. W. WELCH offered the flag of the 13th Aia 



CORPORAL COLLINS' REVENGE. 



93 



bama. He 'said that as the color-bearer was trying to es- 
cape he shot him and secured the trophy. 

When Corporal HARRISON COLLINS stepped out from 
the group the Secretary made a little speech to his deeply 
interested auditors. Said he : 

" General Croxton, who commands the force to which 
this man belongs, praises in the highest terms his gallantry. 
I am sure we will all be glad to hear the story of the capt- 
ure from the lips of this brave soldier." 

Corporal Cc llins blushed under the fire of so many big 
guns, and after the clapping of hands had subsided, with 
a little urging on the part of his comrades, he said : 

'* Well, gentlemen, there ain't much to tell, but I'll give 
you the story the best I can. You see, last December, 
when General Hood advanced toward Nashville, I saw that 
flag rally to the front. For thirteen days we fell back in 
good order before the enemy ; it looks now as if we were 
just drawing them on. That flag seemed to be in sight 
nearly all the time. I shot at it every time I got a chance, 
sometimes under embarrassing circumstances. It got to be 
so provoking that I made up my mind if we ever got a 
chance I'd pay those rebels for flaunting that there flag in 
our faces. After our army rested at Nashville for a week 
we advanced on the enemy, and it was now their turn to 
fall back, which they did, so fast, that on the second day 
it ended in a big stampede. On the third day I caught 
sight of my old friend, this flag. I was on duty with 
my regiment — the First Tennessee Cavalry — supporting a 
battery. The rebels made a stand at a creek which was 
bridged in our front. Part of them, with the flag, tried to 



94 



THE VICTORS AND THE SPOILS. 



cross lower down. Then I saw my chance. Some of us 
charged. I was soon close to the flag. The Confederate 
ofificer ordered some of his men to dismount and * fight on 
foot.' Our party halted here, but I forgot everything but 
the prize, and riding through the dismounted enemy, over- 
took the color-bearer and demanded the flag. He threw 
it on the ground. I dismounted and picked it up. 

" By this time I was some distance in advance, and as 
our bugle was sounding the ' rally ' I turned back with 
my trophy." 

Corporal FRANK Carr recaptured a U. S. guidon from 
the enemy. 

*' So you recaptured the old flag?" inquired the Secre- 
tary. 

'* Yes," was Carr's reply. " We made a charge and were 
repulsed. I got into the abatis, and couldn't get out. A 
Johnnie came up and told me to surrender. I wouldn't do 
it, but put on my bayonet and was going to stand a fight. 
The fellow had this flag sticking out of his breast. I 
grabbed it, and he turned and ran away." 

Private Otis W. Smith captured the battle-flag of the 
6th Florida. He was one of the first to leap the rebel 
works, and took both flag and bearer. 

Private WiLLIAM MAY presented the flag of Borran- 
cood's Battery, and Private ANDREW J. SLOAN delivered 
the colors of the ist Louisiana Battery. 

Private GEORGE Stokes and DANIEL J. HOLCOMB also 
transferred, to the care of the War Department, Confeder- 
ate flags. 

Private William F. Moore told how he got his trophy^ 



WARLIKE TAPESTRY. 95 

a battery flag of Cheatham's command. He said: "The 
color-bearer was in a small group of rebels and was trying 
to climb the hills. I shed my knapsack, took after him and 
a captain of the same regiment and captured both." 

As each man advanced to deliver his trophy it was re- 
ceived by a gray-headed veteran of the Mexican War, who, 
after unfurling the flag, laid it upon the musket-stacks pro- 
vided, and when the last silken standard had been placed 
there the effect was brilliant and thrilling. The varied 
hues of the rainbow lighted up the sombre apartment in a 
blaze of color. Each face, for the time at least, glowed with 
the patriotic spirit of the occasion, and reflected the warm 
tints of the tapestried walls. Was ever there a grander 
decoration to human habitation — to feudal castle or impe- 
rial palace — than these battle-flags? Embroidered by the 
hands of fair women, bearing upon their folds the names 
of bloody battles where brave Confederates had rallied under 
them again and again ; torn by conflict, worn by tempest, 
they had at last fallen by the fortune of war into the hands 
of the victor. The Secretary, beaming with genuine pleas- 
ure, now as Master of Ceremonies, presented each of the 
notable personages to the heroes of the hour; each received 
a hearty grasp of the hand and a word of encouragement 
which none of them was likely soon to forget. 

The trophies were then inspected by the company, and, 
when the last dignitary had been presented, all returned 
to their respective groups while the Secretary of War ad- 
dressed Lieutenant Gere and his comrades as follows : 

'' In behalf of the Government of the United States, I 
return to you its thanks, and the thanks of the people for 



^6 THE inCTORS AND THE SPOILS. 

your gallantry. Accept also the gratitude of this Depart- 
ment for yourselves and for your comrades-in-arms. The 
Adjutant-general will be ordered to take charge of the flags 
with the descriptions you have this morning given, so as 
to connect your own individual histories with the noble 
actions by which they were captured. He will also be or- 
dered to present to each one of you a Medal of Honor, to be 
worn by you as a token and a recognition of your gallantry 
and distinguished services. I wish you all a safe return to 
your homes, and that you may long live to enjoy in peace 
the victories which have been won by you and your com- 
panions in arms. Lieutenant, I return to you and your 
command the thanks of the Department and of the Govern- 
ment, and you will make known to them the high estima- 
tion in which their services are held." 

Turning about, the Secretary, in an imperious manner, 
thus addressed the Adjutant-general of the Army, who was 
present, accompanied by the military chiefs of bureaux and 
officers temporarily in the city : 

" General Townsend, to your keeping I commend these 
sacred tokens of the courage, self-sacrifice and patriotism of 
our armies. You will cause a proper record to be made of 
the particulars of each capture, and present to each cap- 
tor, on behalf of the United States, a Medal of Honor suit- 
ably inscribed. 

** You will publish in General Orders the names of these 
gallant soldiers, furnishing each with a copy of the order, to 
the end that their noble example may incite others to sim- 
ilar deeds. 

*' You will direct the Paymaster-general to pay to eacl^ 
officer and soldier a month's pay in advance. 



GAPTUkING A MAJOR-GEMERAL. Q^f 

*' And, finally, you will grant to each a furlough of thirty 
days, with free transportation to his home and thence to his 
regiment." 

As the detachment filed out of the apartment each man 
saluted the War Minister. Mr. Stanton seemed for the mo- 
ment to forget the grimness of official duty in the emotions 
that swayed the warm-hearted man. He waved his hand in 
acknowledgment, his eyes filled with tears, and as the last 
" boy in blue " disappeared the Secretary turned, without a 
word to his guests, and darted into his private room. 








TRIVATE JAMES DUNLAVY, 

THIRD IOWA VOL. CAVALRY. 



II. CAPTURING A MAJOR-GENERAL. 

In presenting the trophies of the battle of Nashville to 
the Secretary of War, Lieutenant Gere spoke of the long 
chase of Price and Marmaduke in Missouri and Arkansas by 
the very troops that returned to Tennessee in time to gain a 
victory over the famous leader. Hood, at Nashville. 



^8 THE VICTORS AND THE SPOILS. 

The capture of the Confederate general, Marmaduke, was 
made by a young Iowa cavalryman, Private James DuN- 
LAVY,^ under circumstances which he relates in a letter 
from which an extract is here given. 

The Union forces consisted of two brigades of cavalry, 
commanded by Colonels Benteen and Phillips. General 
Sterling Price's forces were falling back, with the Yankees 
close upon their heels. Dunlavy says : 

" General Marmaduke had formed his division on the 
prairie to hold us while Price's train crossed Mine Creek. 
His position was bad, with Mine Creek to his rear, Benteen 
on his right and Phillips on his left. Col. Benteen's charges 
were made promptly, and, according to Gen. Cabell (Con- 
federate), 'just in the nick of time.' A moment later 
Cabell intended to charge upon Phillips. He had just 
passed the word for it when Benteen struck their right, 
capturing their artillery. Marmaduke's whole right and 
centre were completely stampeded. I was on the extreme 
right of my regiment, and was wounded in the arm by a 
piece of shell, which also hurt my horse. Just as Marma- 
duke's men ' broke,' my horse wheeled to the rear and my 
gun fell from my hand, but held by the sling. Just as quick 
as I could get my horse to the front, seeing my brigade far 
in advance to my right, I noticed troops. Thinking they 
were Federals I started for them, but soon found they were 
Marmaduke's men in full retreat. I noticed an officer in a 
Confederate uniform. This officer started in my direction, 

* James Duni.avy enlisted in Co. F, 30th Iowa Vol. Infantry (aged 18) ; re-enlisted Co. 
D, :!d Iowa Cavalry, 1863. Served during all campaigns in Tennessee, Missouri and 
Georgia until close of the war. Mustered out with regiment at Atlanta, Ga., April 9, 1865. 
Was graduated M.D. at Keokuk in 1870. 



A MUTUAL SURPRISE. 



90 



shouting, ' What do you mean, shootin^^- your o'wn men ! ' 
He was evidently trying to rally what he thought were his 
own men. I shot at him, but missed. I checked to a trot 
and he was soon by my side, and seemed surprised when I 
demanded his revolver. He handed it over, saying, ' I sur- 
render; thought I was with my own men.' I started to the 
rear, and as one of our men asked for the rebel horse, I 
ordered my prisoner to dismount, which he did in a very 
cool and military style. 

" I then started to the rear with him on double-quick. 
Had gone a short distance when he said that he had been 
up all night, and was very tired, and asked me if I would let 
him walk ; which I did. He wanted a horse, but I refused 
to tret him one. He then asked me to take him to General 
Pleasanton, as he was personally acquainted with him. 

*' I told liim that if the General could be found he should 
see him. He then remarked, ' I will tell you who I am/ 
Just then one of Pleasanton's staff came up, and my pris- 
oner introduced himself as General Marmaduke. I again 
started to the rear with the officer. He asked me in what 
troops' hands he was. 1 tc^ld him Iowa. He said he was 
glad he was in Iowa instead of Kansas. We had gone 
but a short distance when we met Gen. C. W. Blair, to 
whom 1 delivered my captive. Blair got a horse and 
mounted General Marmaduke, and asked me to accom- 
pany them to General Curtis. 

"General Blair introduced Marmaduke to Curtis, then 
myself as General Marmaduke's captor. General Curtis 
remarked, * Right from my own State,' and that he was 
acquainted with my father. I started to the field hospital 



100 ^'^i^ VICTORS AND THE SPOILS. 

to get my arm dressed, when an officer rode up to me, shook 
my hand warmly, and said, ' My boy, you will hear of this 
day's work in years to come.' 

" Started, in company with a comrade, for the front, but 
had not gone far when my arm began to bleed and become 
so painful that I gave it up and returned to Fort Scott. 

" That night it rained ; my feelings can better be imag- 
ined than described. A boy away from home the first time ; 
a stranger in a strange place ; wet, wounded, dirty, hungry 
and homesick. But General Blair sent for me and treated 
me with great kindness. A load was thus removed from 
m}^ heart for which I shall ever be grateful. 

" As soon as my arm was well enough for duty, I left 
Fort Scott, carrying with me a vivid recollection of the 
kindness of the citizens, and as tokens of their friendship, 
from the ladies an elegant album and a beautiful copy of 
Tom Moore's poetical works, and from the men a brace 
of very handsome ' Colt's navy revolvers.' " 

A rather unique testimonial to military merit in the 

form of a Resolution of the Board of Supervisors of Davis 

County, Iowa, is in Dr. Dunlavy's possession. It reads as 

follows : 

Bloomfield, Iowa, 

Ja?i. 12, 1865. 

WHEREAS it has come to the knowledge of the citizens of this county 
that Private James Dunlavy, Co. D, 3d Iowa Cavalry, did in the late battle 
of Mine Creek, Kansas, between the Federal and Rebel forces, after being se- 
verely wounded in the arm, by his own personal daring and courage rush upon 
and compel the noted general, Marmaduke (rebel), to surrender to him as a 
prisoner of war. Therefore be it 

Resolved, that we hereby tender the said James Dunlavy the thanks of the 



A UNIQUE TESTIMONIAL. 



lot 



citizens of this county for his brave, faithful and distinguished services. Be it 
further 

Resolved^ that the clerk of the Board of Supervisors be directed to spread 
this proceeding upon the record of this Board, and that he furnish the said 
James Dunlavy with a copy of same under seal. 

I, William Law^ Clerk of the Board of Supervisors of Davis County, Iowa, 
certify that the foregoing is a correct copy of proceedings, had by said Board at 
its January term, 1S65. 

Witness my hand and Official Seal this 12th day of January, a.D. 1865. 
L. S. Wm. J. Law, 

Clerk. 





%Q Jill ttf TO0m ihfjt ^wcnfs ^lutU Ctniit. (Siffting: 



/oKi aniline IH^J and: 'a').,n/./^pe /^ '^//af. 





""-*"":!5-uuil ■ ^ ' 



pw riioumni £ight HimSred and «'.v(j/-.A>UlSiN\)_„„ >^ 



d caimd thf Great Seal of the Stat* 
,\.V.M In the year nf our I/>ri 






^^^^K^^-^ 



103 



CORI'ORAL I'AlRUk II. MoNAGHAN, 

KOKTY-EIGHTH rHNNSVLVANIA INFANTRY. 



THREE THINKING BAYONETS. 

IN every army there may be found enlisted men who are 
not only able to obey orders intelligently under the eye 
of their commanding officer, but who can act with energy, 
■courage and good judgment when thrown upon their own 
resources in an emergency. 

The armies of the United States have abounded with 
such men — especially in time of war. 

The " three thinking bayonets," whose adventures are 
described in this chapter, belong to the high type of Amer- 
ican soldiership referred to, and their gallantry was re- 
warded with the Medal. 

I. RECAPTURING THE COLORS. 

Patrick H. Monaghan,* formerly a corporal, Co. F, 
48th Pennsylvania Volunteers, writes as follows: 



* Patrick H. Monaghan enlisted (at the age of eighteen) at Minersville, Pa., Aug. 12, 
1861, in Co. F, 48th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. Pjowoted Corporal 18. At- 
tached to Battery *' M," 3d l^. S. Artillery, Sept. to Dec, 1863. Sensed with Army of 
Potomac and in East Tennessee Campaign, until mustered out with regiment, July 17, 
1865. MtuAi, OK Honor " for recapture of colors 7th N. Y. Heavy Artillery, June 17, 1864." 

103 



104 THREE THINKING BAYONETS. 

" My recollection of the affair of June 17, 1864, and the 
recapture of the colors of the 7th N. Y. Heavy Artillery, is 
as follows: 

''After crossing the James River on the 15th of June, we 
marched rapidly towards Petersburg, and on the evening of 
the i6th debouched from a dense strip of woods, deployed, 
and double-quicked across a field toward the enemy's 
works. On our approach, a brigade of the Second Corps, 
which occupied a hastily constructed breastwork in front, 
advanced to carry the enemy's works. But after a des- 
perate attempt to storm them, they were repulsed with 
severe loss, especially in prisoners. It was then that the 
New York regiment lost its colors. This was late on the 
evening of the i6th. During the night we manoeuvred, 
crossing a marsh that intervened in single file, and took 
position closer to the rebel works. While in this position 
the most profound silence was maintained, as we could 
hear the enemy talking, and every man was notified to 
secure his tin cup and trappings so as to make no noise and 
be ready for a charge. Before daylight the order came, and 
we, with the 36th Massachusetts, dashed forward, under a 
heavy fire, leaped the enemy's breastworks, capturing four 
pieces of artillery, six hundred prisoners, and about a thou- 
sand stand of arms. 

'' In leaping the breastworks, a rebel fired, with his gun 
so close to the left side of my head that my hair was 
singed, my cheek slightly burned, and ear injured by the 
concussion so that I feel the effects of it yet. Thomas 
James, a comrade of mine, knocked a rebel down with his 
gun, and Isaac Lewis (another comrade) and a rebel fired 



HA ND- TO-HA ND. 10$ 

at each other, killing each other instantly. It was short, 
sharp work and we lost seventy-five men. The enemy 
fell back in confusion toward their second line, while our 
troops occupied the one just taken. A few of us — a strong 
skirmish line as it were — without orders, pursued them. 
Between the line just taken and tlie next, the ground was 
undulating, and a small stream of water flowed in a hollow 
thus formed. A growth of small trees and underbrush 
lined either bank of this stream. A part of the enemy 
made a stand here and delivered fire. As we dashed for- 
ward, firinof as w^e went, a \'oun«; man, whom I took for 
an officer, came towards us, with a handkerchief fastened 
to a rod, reached it to me and said he wished to surrender. 
I asked him to what regiment he belonged, and he replied, 
' The litter corps ' (corresponding, I think, to our stretcher or 
ambulance corps). I directed him to the rear — the line just 
captured and held by our troops — and ran to the edge of 
the woods and fired. A man fell across the small stream 
with his head almost in the water, and immediately a 
tall rebel, who was near, threw^ down his gun, ran forward, 
caught him, sat on the bank \\\\\\ his feet in the water, and 
placed the head of the wounded man in his lap. I came 
forward, aimed my empty gun, and ordered both to sur- 
render and go to the rear. The tall man cried out, ' Don't 
shoot the Major!' I inquired, 'Major who?' and I 
understood him to sa}% ' Major Crawford of the 34th Ten- 
nessee.'" I asked the ]\Iajor to arise, and we both would 
help him back. But he said, ' No, I can't walk, I have just 

* I think he said "34th Tennessee," although it might have been "44th Tennessee," 
»s Robert Reed, of Co. " G," captured the colors of that regiment the same morning. 



Io6 THREE THINKING BAYONETS. 

been wounded. I think my hip is broken.' He seemed 
to be a man, forty or forty-five years of age, with a florid 
complexion, and a reddish beard, cHpped short. 

"I then ordered the tall man to go to the rear, but when 
he attempted to rise the Major moaned and said, * Please 
leave him with me, and you go and get some of your men 
to carry me back.' I replied, ' And he will be gone when I 
return.' He answered, ' I give you my word of honor that 
we both will remain until you come.' The other man said, 
' I saw a stretcher (litter) in there. If we could get it you 
and I might be able to carry him.' Of course all this took 
place in less time than it takes me to tell it. I stepped a 
fe-w paces to the left in search of the stretcher, when a 
rebel, with a gun at a trail and a flag over his shoulder, 
came running toward me. When he saw me he attempted 
to use his piece, but I had him covered, and shouted to 
him to drop his gun and surrender. He dropped it, and I 
ran forward and took the colors from him. 

" I was so elated over getting those colors that I merely 
called to the prisoners to follow me, and not knowing 
whether they did or not, ran excitedly back to the line 
which was still firing over us, who were in the hollow, at 
the retreating rebels beyond the thicket. I fortunately 
approached my own company, who upon seeing me ceased 
firing, set up a cheer, while I leaped upon the breastworks 
and waved the flag. Lieut. John L. Williams, of our com- 
pany, jumped up, embraced me, and the boys pulled us 
both down, as the enemy had opened a pretty lively fire 
from their second line by this time. We unfurled the flag 
an i found it belonged to the 7th New York Heavy Artil- 



A GOOD DA y ' ^^ FISHING. 



107 



ler)'. The prisoners, except the few we had taken in the 
pursuit, had been sent to the rear by this time. The 
}oung man who first surrendered to me was still there, but 
was about being sent back under guard. When he saw me 
he said to the captain, ' I am his prisoner, I surrendered to 
him.' 

" I told the captain about the wounded major and the 
other two men. He ordered me to the rear with the pris- 
oner and the colors, and said he would attend to them. 
On my return I understood they were brought in. In the 
centre and on the left was an equally interesting time. 
As I started back I met Lieut. -Col. Pleasants, who com- 
manded the regiment. He congratulated me, and re- 
cjuested me to give him the colors, bring the prisoner to 
the rear, and report to him on my return. After some hes- 
itation I gave him the flag. I soon overtook the other 
prisoners, escorted by as numerous a guard, from various 
regiments, as they numbered. I turned over mine and 
returned to the front. In the mean time, the regiment had 
moved forward and were throwing up breastworks. It was 
from near this position, a week later, that we commenced 
the mine that we exploded on the 30th of July. 

" General Meade presented three others and me with 
Medals of Honor, December i6th, 1864, at Ninth Corps 
Headquarters in presence of a large part of the Army." 

II. A GOOD DAY'S FISHING. 

One of the operations resulting in the capture of Rich- 
mond was the affair of Hatcher's Run, October 27, 1864. 
Its object was to gain possession of the Southside Railroad, 



Io3 THREE THINKING BAYONETS. 

then an important line of supply for the Confederate army 
Although the attack was unsuccessful, there was some hard 
fighting and many curious happenings yet to -be told in 
print. One of these incidents is described by Alonzo 
Smith, then ist Sergeant (since lieutenant) 7th Michigan 
Veteran Volunteer Infantry." He says : 

'' I will give a sketch of what is known as the battle of 
Hatcher's Run, Va., Oct. 27, 1864, so far as my memory 
serves me. The 2d Division, 2d Corps, formed line of battle 
across the Boydton plank-road on quite a high ridge, facing 
towards the south and west. My regiment was a part of 
the left flanking brigade, with its right resting at or near 
said plank-road, extending the line to the left in front of 
the woods that were in our rear ; and on the left of the road, 
as we faced the south and west, our line formed a half cir- 
cle with centre in the advance, my regiment extending 
into the woods towards the plank-road. The brigade was 
composed of 19th and 20th Massachusetts, 42d and 59th 
New York, 1st Minnesota, 36th Wisconsin and 7th Michi- 
gan. The Confederates attacked our right and rear, cap- 
turing the artillery in position on our right. While in this 
position some stragglers came through the woods in rear of 
my regiment. Our colonel then deployed us to the left, 
towards the plank-road, to prevent any stragglers from 
passing our left, we being the left flanking regiment of in- 
fantry within sight or hearing; although we understood at 



* Alonzo Smith enlisted (on his nineteenth birth-day) Aug. 9, 1861, in the 7th Mich. 
Vol, Infantry. Promoted corporal, Apr., 1863 ; sergeant, Apr., 1864 ; first sergeant Nov., 
1864 ; first lieutenant, Dec 9, 1864. Serried through campaigns, Army of the Potomac. 
PFounded at Antietam, in left thigh; at Gettysburg, in left wrist. Medal of Honor for 
capture of flag 26ih N. C. Inf., Oct. 27, 1864. 



A WHOLESALE SURRENDER. 



109 



the time that Gregg's Division of cavalry were the only 
troops on our left. Looking in our rear I saw quite a num- 
ber of men moving towards our line. Calling to Sergeant 
Thomas Smith, who happened to be near me, I asked him 
if he did not think they were ' Rebs.' After a thorough 
look in that direction he pronounced them to be ' Yanks,' 
and started to report to Colonel Lapoint, who then had 
charge of the picket-line a little in our advance. Feeling- 
somewhat uneasy as to our position, I went some fifteen or 
twenty rods to the rear and discovered the men to be Con- 
federates, coming directl}' toward me — every man for him- 
self. Stepping behind a large elm tree, I concluded to 
tr}' a demand for surrender as soon as they came near 
enough. 

'' With a loaded musket and fixed bayonet I awaited their 
approach. When w^ithin a rod or so, I stepped out from 
m}^ hiding-place and demanded a surrender, which they did 
not appear to heed. I made the second demand when 
their line officers came to the front, and I saw that none of 
them had side-arms. They said they would surrender to 
me if I would take them out of there all right. They 
wished to know if we had any troops in there, and in whcit 
direction I was going to take them out. I pointed to the 
direction of the plank-road, when the}' said it would be 
taking them back into their own lines. I informed them 
that we had a division only a few rods from me. Their 
officers then told the men to throw down their arms and 
surrender. I then called to Alfred Bordine and John 
Cramer, they being the first I saw after the surrender. 

^' The good news soon reached the regiment and a guard 



jjQ THREE THINKING BAYONETS. 

formed who helped the discomfited Confederates to remove 
their cartridge-boxes, and I kindly became the color-bearer 
of the 26th North Carolina. Just as I had taken the colors 
from the sergeant, Colonel Lapoint came to the scene and 
wished to know what I had been doing. He then told me 
to take a guard and report to General Hancock, whose 
headquarters were in an open field to our left, and across 
the plank-road. I obeyed the order, and General Hancock 
directed mc to report the prisoners to the provost-marshal. 

" The same night the army fell back to their old camp, 
and through some mistake of the aides my regiment and 
the 59th N. Y. were left to their fate. When daylight 
came, the colonel discovered their position and started for 
the rear, but had not crossed the first field when a squad of 
rebel cavalry made a dash on them, which was repulsed by 
a volley from the boys in blue. They then formed a skir- 
mish line and kept under shelter of the woods. The color- 
bearer of the State flag took the flag from the staff and put 
it around his body, under his shirt ; the U. S. flag was torn 
to pieces, each man putting a piece in his pocket. 

*' After wandering through the woods, avoiding openings 
as much as possible, they became lost. Going 'to a log 
cabin they found an old negro, who was willing to pilot 
them to the Union lines, where they arrived after two days' 
tramping. The old contraband was sent to Monroe, Mich- 
igan, by the regiment, as a reward for his services. 

"The number of prisoners for which my regiment re- 
ceived credit at the engagement on Hatcher's Run, Va,, 
was 20 officers and 480 enlisted men." 



AJ^ IMDEPENDENT BA TTER Y. j j j 

This was an extraordinary haul for one lone fisherman, 
but shows what a thoroughly wide awake sergeant rnay 
do. 




BVT. CAPTAIN PLTKR T. ANDERSON, 

LATE CORFOKAL 31ST VVISC. INFANTRY. 

III. AN. INDEPENDENT BATTERY. 

In the year 1840, when Chicago was a village, among the 
arrivals there were two Norwegians — husband and wife — 
on their way to a new home in free America, where land 
was cheap and where industry and thrift have ever been 
rewarded with success. 

They settled in Wisconsin, on the banks of the East 
Pecatonica River, and erected a homestead, where iw due 
time numerous olive branches grew up around the worthy 
couple, and became the seasoned timber of which true 
American citizens and, when needed, good Union soldiers 
are made. When the great war came, two of the boys volun- 
teered to fight under the old flag. One, Gotack, gave his 
life to his country in one of the battles near Atlanta, in 



1T:2 THREE THINKINQ BAYONETS. 

1864. The other, Peter T. Anderson,'^ enlisted in a Wis- 
consin regiment at the age of sixteen, and iSefore the close 
of the war, in which he served to the bitter end, had given 
many proofs of his hardy Norway blood and his healthy 
American training. His is one of the few instances in 
which a private soldier has been honored with a brevet 
commission as captain, for a special act of gallantry in the 
presence of the enemy. 

Anderson had tramped with his regiment under General 
Sherman on the Great March to the Sea, and after the 
capture of Savannah, had found himself still under the lead- 
ership of '' Uncle Billy " — as Sherman was affectionately 
called by his men — close at the heels of the distinguished 
Confederate, Joe Johnston. 

Occasionally the enemy would turn and snap viciously at 
his pursuers. 

One of these occasions was at Bentonville, March 19, 

1865. It is thus described by Captain Anderson, then 
Corporal Co. B, 31st Wisconsin Infantry: 

*' The morning opened fair and warm. About one o'clock, 
and just after dinner, we forded a stream. While we were 
crossing the stream our major, Robert Stepherson, asked 
me to fill his canteen with water and then get into an am- 
bulance and ride, as he thought I looked too sick to march. 
I told him I never had been in an ambulance and would 
rather stay with my company. We were ordered down 



* Peter T. Anderson enlisted Sept. 8, 1863, in Co. B, 31st Wisconsin Infantry. Pro- 
moted cor \,or^ " for g-allantry at Averysboro, N. C," March 16. 1865. Breveted captain 
Wisconsin Volunteers (page 112). Served in the Western Army continuously until 
mustered out with regiment at Louisville, July 8, 1865. Medal of Honor " for gallant 
conduct in saving gun of 14th Corps from capture," Bentonville, N. C, March 19, 1865. 



FALL TNG BACK LN GOOD ORDER. HJ 

close to the left of the turnpike leading to Bentonville ; 
the timber grew quite large and thick where we were 
formed in line of battle. About four rods in front of our 
regiment there was an open field ; about a quarter of a mile 
across it we could see the Rebs forming their lines. In the 
mean time, our men were cutting down trees and piling 
them up for temporary breastworks. There were only 
three regiments of our brigade there. We had only a few 
minutes to work, as the Rebs saw (or thought they saw) a 
chance of gobbling us up — a large gap between us and the 
14th Corps. They fell upon both our flanks about the 
same time; our right flank gave way first. Our regiment 
was on the left flank and my Co. (B) on the extreme left. 
When we saw the Rebs were clear to our rear, on both of 
our flanks, we fell back in great disorder, some of the bo}'s 
going so far to the rear that they never got back until noon 
the next day. We ran towards the rear, on the other side 
of the pike, and behind where we formed our first line the 
19th Indiana Battery was stationed. The men had aban- 
doned three of their guns. After most all of our brigade 
had passed them, some one (think it was one of the battery 
boys) shouted : ' For God's sake, save the battery ! ' 

" I said to one of our men (George Neamiah) that I was 
going back to get the battery ; he said I was a d — d fool if 
I did ; but back I went. The gun nearest the road was 
' limbered up ' and ready to move. The team consisted of 
a pair of mules on the lead, while the 'swing ' and wheel- 
ers were horses. I soon got them started by using my 
ramrod for a whip. I only had about four rods to go to 
reach the pike. Just as I got to the pike, the rebels began 



XI4 THREE THINKING BAYONETS. 

to flock around me pretty thick. All the time I kept giv^ 
ing it to the horses with my ramrod. Once I undertook to 
get into the saddle of the wheel team ; just as I was going 
to mount a bullet struck the strap of the stirrup and cut it 
in two. The enemy began to think they were likely to lose 
their prize, and all began to shoot at me (or at the horses, 
as they were badly wounded), and some of them used 
pretty rough language, telling me to surrender. There was 
one Johnnie rode right up to me, with a Colt's revolver 
drawn and pointed at me, and shouted, ' Surrender ! you 
d — d Yankee.' He had hardly uttered the words before 
one of our boys shot him from his horse. 

" The Rebs followed me up close till they saw our brigade 
forming. Colonel West, taking command, said, ' We will 
hold this position or die right here.' My ramrod was bent 
double from trying to load my gun as I was running. So 
when I got to the regiment the colonel told me to go to 
the rear, as I could do no good there with a broken ramrod 
and my hand badly bruised. I took the gun and horses to 
the rear with me. As I approached the batteries that were 
massed in our rear, an officer (I think it was the chief of 
artillery) stepped in front of the works they had thrown up 
and asked me what battery I belonged to. I told him I 
was ' Independent.' I told him in a few words all I knew 
about it. Then he asked me if I would let him use the 
gun, and of course I consented. Then I went to the rear 
of the battery and sat down under a tree. I sat there 
about ten minutes when an orderly came along with a ram- 
rod in his hand. I asked him to give it to me as mine was 
broken. He gave it to me. I started right away for my 



RECONNOITRING. 



115 



company, and got there just as the rebels were making 
their second charge. They charged us five times, but we 
checked them every time. 

'' Just after dusk that evening the Major asked me to pick 
a few men to go with me to reconnoitre in our front, and 
see where the enemy were. Our regiment was instructed 
not to fire until we got in, even if we did shoot a httle in 
front of them. We started, and kept in the dark as much 
as possible ; several of the pitch-pine trees were burning, 
and made it quite light in some places. After advancing 
about two hundred yards several rebels jumped up and 
shouted, 'We surrender!' There were ten or twelve of 
them and onl}- five of us. We took them into our lines, 
w hich was just what they wanted. The next day we buried 
the dead of both armies, and on the twenty-first started for 
Raleigh, N. C, where we lay until the surrender of John- 
ston's army." 





iiG 




**f"- '>yi.'-% 



_J 



( AJ i \!N 11AI;\IA MW Ml.\>ll,r. 
;iNETY-MNTH I'ENNSVLVAXIA INFANTRV. 



WITH THE COLORS IN WAR TIME.^ 

JUST twent}' years after the Great Conflict, I am asked 
to give for publication my recollections of service as 
a color-sergeant, during the War of the Rebellion. It 
seems as if the subject of W^ar had been written almost 
threadbare : however, 1 will describe some incidents of 
my soldiering days. 

THE TRIALS OF A RECRUIT. 

I was born at Painted Post, Steuben County, N. Y., Jan- 
uary 5, 1843. ^^y ancestors, on my father's side, are traced 
to Sir Philip de M(a)unsell, who came from Normandy 
with ''William the Conqueror." His grandson. Sir John 
M(a)unsell, was Lord Chief Justice of England, in the tmie 



* Contributed by Captain Harvey May Mlnsell, at the request of the Editor. 



II 



Il3 WITH THE COLORS IN WAR TIME. 

of Henry III. My mother was a May, and one of her 
ancestors was John May, Esq., who came to America in 
1640, from Mayfield, a town in the county of Sussex, Eng- 
land. 

At the time war was declared, and Fort Sumter fired 
upon, in the Spring of 1861, I had charge, for an uncle,* of 
a lumber yard at Oil City, Pa. Having been taught, from 
a boy up, that Slavery was wrong. President Lincoln's first 
call for 75,000 three-months volunteers naturally set me on 
fire, as it did almost every one throughout the Northern 
States. Oil City, at that time, was in the backwoods of 
Pennsylvania; before the days of railroads in that section. 
However, the people were intensely patriotic, and joined 
me in purchasing the materials for an immense flag, made 
by the ladies, hoisted to the top of a tall staff made of 
derrick poles, and unfurled to the breeze amid cheers from 
thousands of voices. 

That was a great day for Oil City, and the flag was a 
gentle reminder to all able-bodied men to fall into line and 
march off for the preservation of the Union. That flag 
did good service, and yet when the people of that region 
learn for the first time that the flag w^e all " rallied around " 
in 1 86 1 was as much like a rebel flag as any I ever saw, 
they will certainly be as much surprised as I was in making 
the discovery. However, such was the fact, and I have 
since enjoyed many a good laugh over it. 

The people were a little slow in Oil City, so I went to 
Franklin, seven miles distant, hoping to join a company 
there, but was too late. 

* Hamilton Stow, Esq., of Cincinnati. 



THE TRIALS OF A RECRUIT 



119 



Then I made Pittsburg my objective point. Arrived 
there one day too late. Sign posted up at all recruiting 
stations, " iV^* more nun zvanted ! '' Saw the officers, how- 
ever, and plead with them to "let me in," but all in vain. 
Besides, the daily papers announced to the public that the 
quota of 75,000 men under the President's call was full, 
and that twice as many more had offered than were wanted. 

Just then my eyes fell upon a recruiting advertisement 
in a Philadelphia newspaper. I opened a recruiting office 
in Pittsburg, and wrote, published and distributed several 
thousand copies of the most patriotic, '' soul-stirring " 
handbills ever flung to the wind in that ancient and honor- 
able town ; and they did the work, for in less than thirty- 
six hours I was on the cars with twenty-seven men, tick- 
eted for Philadelphia. 

Arriving there, all the men breakfasted at my expense, 
and before I could report and turn them, with myself, over 
to our French colonel, Romaine Lujeane, all but eleven 
deserted ; and by evening on that day but three men 
remained. The colonel ordered me back to Pittsburg 
that night, to take advantage of my circulars: result, thirty 
more recruits. Took them to Philadelphia, where all but 
four deserted. 

Those patriots simply wanted free transportation, and 
they got it ; but the seven who remained with me were 
seven of the best boys,— honest, true, brave, soldier boys, — 
in the United States Army. The fact is, I was only a boy 
m}'sclf, just past eighteen, and weighed less than a hun- 
dred pounds; but taken with the other seven (who were 



I20 WITH THE COLORS IN WAR TIME. 

about my age and weight), I felt like a giant, because I 
could now call myself one or eigJit at pleasure. 

From that time forward, I stood before the country In 
the ratio of one to seven, or^ as seven to one; and it cost 
me in shining gold just $65.25 to reach those proportions, 
as per following detailed statement : 

When I first arrived in Pittsburg I had just $75.00 

2 days' board in that city, $3.00 

Incidentals 2.50 

5000 handbills 15.00 

Transportation for 28 men to Philadelphia (paid by Government) 00.00 

Loaned to a recruit (afterwards deserted) 25.00 

Breakfast for 28 men in Philadelphia 7.00 52.50 

Total cost of first invoice $52.50 22.50 

My return trip to Pittsburg cost : 

I day's board 1.50 

Incidentals 2.50 

Transportation for 32 men (paid by Government) 00.00 

Breakfast in Philadelphia for 32 men 8.00 

Loaned recruit , .75 12.75 

Total cost of second invoice $12.75 $9-75 

Add cost of first invoice 52.50 

Aggregate expense $65.25 

and for that, we had eight recruits and $9.75 left. 

In round numbers each recruit cost ju.st $8.15. 

The Colonel was several weeks in filling his regiment, 
so it was among the first ready for service after President 
Lincoln made his first call for three-years men. The 
Colonel offered to promote me to a lieutenant, but I bash- 
fully declined the honor, for I knew nothing about military 
tactics. Was mustered into the U. S. Volunteer Service, 
with my seven ''good and true" recruits, July 26, 1861, 
we being the youngest, smallest, scrawniest-looking ''high 
privates in the rear rank," of any in the 32d Regiment 
(afterwards re-numbered the 99th) Pennsylvania Volun- 



^'JOJJN BAKLE YCOKNr 1 2 1 

teers. We were at first looked upon by everybody in the 
regiment, except the Colonel, as of no earthly value. 

The regiment was disciplined and sent to the front, but 
it took some time to get there. While on the route, it 
garrisoned, for a few days, Fort Davis, one of the chain of 
forts surrounding Washington, and located about two 
miles from the south side of the Anacostia River, com- 
monly known as the Eastern Branch of the Potomac. 
While there I was promoted corporal, and a few days later 
it was my misfortune to fight my first battle with an enemy 
not on the programme. 

It was brought about in this way : A day or two pre- 
vious, a very estimable young man by the name of Griffith 
in my company, " C," was taken with a cramp and drowned 
while he and the other members of the company were out 
bathing in the river. Griffith ventured out too far, in very 
deep water. His body sank, and remained at the bottom 
of the river. 

A detachment of men from Company C was at once 
despatched to the Navy Yard, with orders to secure a gun- 
boat or a heavy piece of ordnance on a barge, as soon as 
possible, and proceed to the spot in the river where the 
soldier went down, firing the cannon over the body until 
it rose to the surface. It was a tedious undertaking, so 
the men were worked by reliefs, changing every two hours. 
I was one, and just after I had been relieved, about eleven 
o'clock, one of the darkest nights I ever saw, a sergeant in 

my company, by the name of G R , and myself 

started for the fort. There were two or three ways of 
going, but, as it was so very dark, we concluded to take 



122 WITH THE COLORS IN WAR TIME. 

the public highway. Sergeant R had been drinking 

just enough to make him boisterous when we started, but 
before we had travelled half a mile he became morose and 
ugly. We lost our way in the dark, at a place where sev- 
eral roads branched off. While slowly feeling our way in 
the dark, a horse and wagon came along, going in the same 
direction. The Sergeant wanted to ride, and made known 
his wants in the most vigorous manner possible. He yehed 
so loud that the horse and driver were alarmed, and in a 
moment were out of hearing. Then the Sergeant became 
very angry and laid down in the woods, declaring he would 
not move another inch. 

Supposing we were near our camp I travelled on, leaving 
him to follow at leisure. Within five minutes I heard a 
wagon, and saw a light in the road coming toward me at a 
rapid rate. It proved to be the same wagon that passed 
us, but this time it was crowded with soldiers, and each sol- 
dier had a loaded rifle, and each rifle had a fixed bayonet. 
In the next instant the wagon stopped, and the sergeant 
in charge called out, *' Who comes there?" I replied, 
" Friend with the countersign," and as I was advancing to 
give it, down came every rifle, with the muzzle pointing at 
me, and with the same movement, click, click, I heard the 
double action of the locks, as they cocked their pieces. 

Could there be anything more dreadful than to be 
unwittingly placed in such a position on a lonely road in 
the woods, in the middle of the darkest night, unarmed 
^nd alone in a strange country? All the battles I after- 
ward saw, rolled into one, could not equal the terror of that 
supreme moment — just before they came to my relief, by 



A BRACE OF brigands:' 



123 



dragging me into the vehicle with them. They turned 
the horse and wagon around, and drove off at break-neck 
speed, finally landing me in the guard-house of an unknown 
regiment. 

Well, it was another relief to get there, although their 
treatment of me had not improved, for they handcuffed, 
shackled and tied me down. While one party was doing 
that another had driven away for the Sergeant, who, when 
found, was treated in like fashion. We had the guard- 
house, a large wall tent, all to ourselves; but it was doubly 
guarded by extra men, detailed for that purpose. 

About daybreak, the following morning, I learned ''con- 
fidentially" from the Officer of the Guard that the vehicle 
passing us on the road, and about which the Sergeant made 
such a row, was returning from Washington with the regi- 
mental mail. Frightened half out of his wits, in that 
lonely spot at the dead of night, by the sergeant's intem- 
perate yells, the young man drove into camp, rousing the 
whole regiment, exclaiming at the top of his voice that 
he had been attacked by two highwaymen. 

Sergeant R had commenced to sober up, and I shall 

never forget the look on his countenance when I told him 
we were a " brace of brigands," to be tried by '' drum-head 
court-martial" at nine o'clock that morning, to be con- 
victed, sentenced, and shot at twelve o'clock, noon, of that 
day. He believed every word of it, and well he might 
after such an ordeal as we had gone through the night 
previous. I wanted him to believe it, up to the very last 
moment, for had he let liquor alone, and gone along about 
his business, he would not haye dragged us into that 



124 



WITH THE COLORS IN WAR TIME. 



scrape. The Officer of the Guard secretly furnished, me 
with pencil, paper and envelope, that I might communicate 
with my regiment. I wrote a letter to my colonel, explain- 
ino- the whole thing, and the Officer of the Guard sent it 
over to him. 

About nine o'clock that morning we were marched out in 
front of the strange regiment (a new one), lectured by its 
colonel, and then asked by him what we had to say for our- 
selves. I looked off to my right, about that time, and dis- 
covered my company (C) marching toward us, and then I 
respectfully told the Colonel " nothing we could say, after 
such treatment, would be of any avail, and we would leave 
it to our regiment to settle with him." Just then the officer 
in charge of our company handed the Colonel a letter, 
demanding our immediate and unconditional release. We 
were released, there and then ; and from that day forward, 
as long as those two regiments remained near each other, 
whenever our men caught any of the others outside their 
camp, I regret to say, terrible battles were fought on our 
account. 

Sergeant R was never seen under the influence of 

liquor after that. He was an honest man and a brave sol- 
dier, and was, near the end of the war, a lieutenant in that 
same Company C when I became its captain. Colonel 
Lujeane and my captain (William J. Uhler) declared I 
had fought my first battle and won a great victory. I 
thought so then, and I think so now. As the result, I was 
promoted to sergeant*. Moral. — Never be caught in the 
company of a drunken man, under any circumstances what- 
ever, for you will have trouble when least expected, 



GETTYSBURG. 



GETTYSBURG. 



We were at the " Devil's Den," and the " Den " was locked, 
and the 99th, as I said before, held the " key." Only a hand- 
ful of men to arrest and keep at bay " His Satanic Majesty " 
and thirty thousand others, trying to get in. The members 
of the 99th, every man of them, looked like ghosts, and it 
was not until after I made that discovery that I c-rne to 
the conclusion they thought I was the only man in the reg- 
iment not frightened half out of his senses. Every second 
brought the advancing host nearer to us, and every second 
they remained in the distance counted thousands of men in 
our favor, for every one of us was cjuadrupling himself for 
the herculean struggle near at hand. The regiment ap- 
peared to be elastic, able to contract and expand to any 
length and breadth at will. 

1 had the flag unfurled to the breeze in the front as in 
former battles, and every man looked to me and the flag as 
a guide, and I knew it, but they did not know I did. 

They had the guns, the bayonets, the bullets, the pluck, 
the courage; and we all felt safe in each other's hands. 
Not a solitary man of that little band, even for a mo- 
ment, thought of being driven from " tJie KeyT 

We were the " Davids," and on came the " Goliaths " to 
their destruction. Our little ''slings" did it. Column after 
column of the " flower," as Lee was pleased to call those of 
his army, was thrown against us, and for one hour and 
thirty-eight minutes we were kept busy hurling them back. 

It was solemnly said, by non-combatants and eye-Avit- 
nesses, that " men fell as the leaves fall in Autumn, before 



126 WITH THE COLORS IN WAR TIME. 

those horrible discharges." " Faltering for an instant, the 
rebel columns seemed about to recede before the tempest , 
but their officers, who could be seen through the smoke of 
the conflict galloping and swinging their swords along the 
lines, rallied them anew, and the whole line sprang forward 
the next instant, as if to break through our own by mere 
weight of numbers." At many points along the 3d Corps 
line they did break through, but never for an instant at 
'' the key " ; but the key was finally flanked and had to be 
abandoned, but not until a new line of fresh troops had 
formed at the hinges of tJic door. 

" Only a Color-bearer," with colors riddled, and eleven 
bullet-holes in my clothes ; but the worst was not yeto I 
had survived the whirlwind, had looked down the throats of 
thousands of fiery guns, discharged without harm to my 
person, and now that we were compelled to go away from 
the " Den," out of that Hades of fire, and save ourselves 
and the flag from capture, immediate action and some 
engineering was required. 

I had a color-guard of eight corporals, and every man 
was killed or wounded. The rebels were pouring into our 
rear in vast numbers on both flanks. General Ward or- 
dered our regiment, or what was left of it, to fall back as 
quickly as possible. It got a good start, say about sixty 
feet, before I commenced to fall back, because I misunder- 
stood the order, and as several of our men were too badly 
wounded to leave the field, and yet able to load and fire at 
the enemy from where they fell, the thin line of rebels re- 
maining in our front, naturally thought our regiment was 
lyin^ down waiting for another charge. I retreated with 



ALL BLOWX TO PIECES: 



12; 



the flag a few hundred yards in good order, but shortly a 
shell came whizzing past, then another, and still another, 
bursting all around me. One struck the ground, tearing it 
up, and burst right at my feet. 

• Stunned by the concussion, I tumbled into the depres- 
sion it made, and many of our men, who looked back and 
saw me fall, reported me dead. '' Munsell all blown to atoms 
by a shell, and the flag captured." That both the flag and 
myself were not captured was no fault of mine, for there 
we were for a long time, '' playing possum,' ' and I apparently 
dead as Julius Cx^sar. The staff laid along the surface of 
the ground in m}- front, under some rocks and bushes; the 
flag under my body, with my head and shoulders down in 
the depression, and my feet and legs out, as a wounded or 
dead man would naturally lie, stretched at full length, dur- 
ing a battle; for the fight was still raging on both flanks, 
and the rebels were working a battery which they had cap- 
tured at the *' Den." 

I was surrounded by low rocks and bushes, as well as by 
the rebels, and I dared not move from that position until the 
coast was clear to the rear; the only thing I feared was that 
a Johnnie might coi"Qe along and try his bayonet on me to 
see if I was really dead. 

Just about that time the 6th Corps swept down toward 
and past me, driving ever)' " Reb " before it. I jumped 
up and "skedaddled" to the rear, where my regiment had 
formed, quietl)' fell into line and unfurled the flag. Such a 
shouting I never heard before or since. Men who saw me 
fall, ''all blown to pieces with a shell," and "the flag cap- 
tured," came and looked at the flag, and felt of me to see 



J 28 WITH THE COLORS IN WAR TIME. 

if there wasn't some mistake or humbug about it, for I was 
ah'eady booked as among the " slain in battle." I saw 
more, accomplished more, in those few hours than during 
my whole life before. 

I quote from a personal letter to me from General Daniel 
E. Sickles, dated New York, Aug. 17, 1886. 

^A ^ -;^ -:f 'K- -A- ^ -x- '.k 

*' The 99th Penn. Vol. — that noble regiment that stood 
the brunt of battle for hours in the '.Devil's Den,' cover- 
ing Round Top, the key of the Union position, while Gen- 
eral Meade was sending troops to hold it." 

I also give an extract from the report of the commanding 
officer of my regiment and brigade.^ 

" Camp in the Field (Near Warrenton, Va.), 
''July 27, 1S63. 
'■'■Sir: — I have the honor to make the following report of- the part my com- 
mand took in the actions before Gettysburg on the ist, 2d and 3d inst. 

" The courageous conduct of Color-Sergeant Harvey M. Munsell, and the 
manner with which he bore the regimental colors during the conflict, has in- 
duced me to make special mention of his case, as one worthy of the most de- 
cided approval. 

" (Signed) John W. Moore, 

" Major Comd'g ()()f/i Pettn. Vols:' 

" Hdqrs. 2d Brig., ist Div., 3d Corps, 
"August 4, 1863. 
" Captain : — I have the honor to transmit a report of the action and move- 
ments of ray brigade on July ist, 2d, 3d and 4th : 

************* 
"It would afford me much gratification to speak of others in the terms they 

* From the advance sheets oi the U. S. Records—" War of the Rebellion," Vol. XV.. 1880. 



HEROES OE THE COLOR-GUARD. j2q 

deserve, but space will not permit. I would respectfully refer to the regimen- 
tal reports for a detailed statement of the particular deeds of many other gal- 
lant otiicers. I cannot omit, however, the names of a few gallant non-commis- 
sioned officers, viz Sergeant H. M. MuNSEi.L, 99th Pennsylvania Volun- 
teers, . . . who by their bravery and example ins[)ired all in their vicinity. It 
is to be hoped that a suitable reward, by promotion and otherwise, will be 
awarded these splendid soldiers. 

" J. H. HoBART Ward, 

" Brigadier-General.^'' 

It is proper to mention, right here, three incidents in con- 
nection with our color-guard at the " Den." 

HEROES OF THE COLOR-GUARD. 

George Broadbent, from Lancaster City, Pa. ; young 
(about 18), tall, slim, light weight, fair complexion, always 
kind and gentle, and nick-named on that account, ''The 
Lady" ; ha., a mess-mate by the name of Charles Herb- 
STER, one of m)^ good and true Pittsburg recruits, and 
both were color-corporals. Each had a '' presentiment," a 
few hours before the battle, that he was going to be 
killed in the fight. They told everybody so, and made all 
their plans to die. 1 talked with them about the matter, 
and tried to ridicule the idea, but all to no purpose. My 
captain wanted to detail them on other duty till after the 
battle, but fight they would, and fight they did, and died 
as heroes there at the " Devil's Den." 

''The Lady" had fired away nearly all his ammunition at 
the enemy in our front, and had just asked me what we 
would do after our last cartridges were gone, when a bullet 
from the enemy struck him square in the temple, right be- 
fore my eyes, killing him instantly. He fell to the earth, 



130 



With the colors in war time. 



the blood spurting out of the bullet-hole over his battle- 
begrimed face. 

Charles Herbster saw him fall, and was by his side in an 
instant, took out his handkerchief, wiped the blood from 
his dead comrade's face, kissed him, and said, " Poor Lady is 
dead!" On his knees, behind the body, Herbster planted 
himself, and again commenced loading and firing at the 
enemy in close company with GEORGE Setley, another 
one of my color-guard, from Lancaster, Pa. 

When we were compelled to abandon our position and 
go to the rear, I tried to get Herbster and Setley to go with 
us, as they were the only two of the color-guard, out of 
eight, not killed or wounded. Nothing could move them. 

There they were, riveted to the ground, avenging the 
lives of their comrades, and there we left them. Setley 
was frothing at the mouth with excitement and anger, and 
Herbster taking it as cool as a cucumber. Both were the 
best shots in the regiment, and both had done great execu- 
tion. The next day we found Herbster's body lying on 
top, and square across ''the Lady's," and both were com- 
pletely riddled with bullets. 

Setley had been wounded, was taken prisoner, and sub- 
sequently died in captivity. What a wreck I — annihilation 
we might say. Eight boys (they were nothing else) shot 
to death defending the Flag of their Country at a critical 
point, at a critical moment. 

Twenty-three years have passed since that terrible 
tragedy, and it is as fresh in my memory to-day as if but 
yesterday. Heroes they were, every inch of them, fighting, 
and dying martyrs in a good cause, as were all their com- 
rades who fought and died on that bloody field. 



Modern martyrs. 



131 



On the 2d day of last July, the 23d anniversary of 
the conflict, the surviving members of the 99th Pa. Vet. 
Vols, erected and dedicated a beautiful monument to the 
memory of all its fallen heroes, on the very spot at the 
Devil's Den where the little band of eight gave their lives 
that we might live as a Nation. 

That great leader in the noble army of martyrs, Abra- 
ham Lincoln, said, on the same spot, a few months after 
the battle : " We cannot consecrate nor hallow this fjround. 
The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have 
consecrated it far above our power to add or detract. The 
world will but little note, nor long remember what we say 
here ; but it can never forget what they didh.Qx:c. It is for 
us, the living, rather to dedicate ourselves to the unfinished 
work which they so nobly advanced ; to consecrate our- 
selves to the great task remaining, and to gather from the 
graves of these honored dead increased devotion to that 
cause for which they gave their lives. 
Here let us resolve that they shall not 
have died in vain ; that this nation shall, 
under God, have a new birth of freedom , 
and that government of the people, by 
the people and for the people shall not 
perish forever from the earth." 

Out of respect to the sacred memory 
of the heroes who consecrated with their 
life's blood the spot, where our beautiful 
and enduring monument now stands, 1 take pleasure in 
furnishing a miniature reproduction here. 
13 







132 WITH THE COLORS IN WAR TIME. 

MY "VETERAN FURLOUGH." 

From Pennsylvania we returned to Virginia, and during 
the Summer and Fall of 1863, the 99th was engaged in 
marching and fighting many small battles, such as Auburn, 
Kelly's Ford, Mine Run, Wapping Heights and Bartlett's 
Mills, in all of which I carried the flag, and, with my 
usual good luck, came out unharmed. January i, 1864, 
found the 99th at Brandy Station, Virginia, and during a 
tidal wave of patriotism that swept over our regiment 
about that time, nearly every man in it '* re-enlisted for the 
war," unless sooner shot, of course. As I had been right 
along with the veterans, through everything up to that 
date, I wouldn't, couldn't, and didn't desert them. 

The entire regiment received thirty days' furlough, and 
returned home to Philadelphia in a body. I shall long 
remember the day our regiment parted company with the 
Army. The feeling was something like that possessed by a 
strong, affectionate man leaving his famil}' for a long jour- 
ney. I thought, if the Army of the Potomac got into 
trouble with the enemy, during the absence of the 99th, it 
would have hard work to pull through without our assist- 
ance ; and when our regiment moved off, homeward bound, 
I felt as if the whole left flank of the Army was going with 
us, actually deserting those poor fellows left behind, — 
nearly a hundred thousand strong. 

Soon after arriving in Philadelphia I had my photograph 
taken, and for the novelty of the thing, give a fac-simile of 
it right here. I was 21 years of age, to a day, when it was 
struck off. 



''A LITTLE EJV7'EJi7^A/NAfENT:'' 



133 



One afternoon a committee of officers from the 99th 
waited upon me, requesting the pleasure of my company 
at a little entertainment. I accepted, as a matter of course, 
without thinking much about it, for the officers had 
always been very kind. They wouldn't tell me a thing 
about it, except that it was a '' little entertainment." I 
didn't know whether it was an evening party, a ball, or a 
regimental drill, but I went 
to work and arrayed myself 
in my best, and when re- 
flected in a Continental Ho- 
tel mirror I scarcely knew 
myself, the transformation 
was so great. Satisfied that 
I looked well enough to be 
presented, if necessary, to 
Her Majesty, the Queen, I 
hurried off to the " little en-^ 
tertainment." 

Arriving at the place, I was sadly disappointed at not 
finding any ladies there. No one but the officers of my 
regiment, and their friends. In order to remove my 
embarrassment, the Colonel, Asher S. Leidy, of Philadel- 
phia, brought forth from its hiding-place one of the hand- 
somest American flags (made of heavy silk, and of the 
regulation size) I had ever seen.^ In a short and appro- 
priate speech, on behalf of himself and the other officers of 
the 99th Pa. Veteran Volunteers, he presented the flag to 




* See full-page engraving facing this chapter. 



j^^ WITH THE COLORS I^f WAR TIME. 

me, to keep as my personal property. With tears in his 
eyes, and in the presence of all his commissioned associates, 
who were likewise in tears, he thanked me for himself, and 
for them, and said that as I had successfully carried the 
regimental standard through all the. great battles in which 
the regiment had been engaged up to that date, and at the 
critical moment in each one I had never been found want- 
ing, they desired to acknowledge the fact in a fitting and 
substantial manner. "That flag," said the Colonel, "with 
the battles in golden letters on its stripes, and the engraved 
inscription on the silver plate attached to the staff, tells 
the whole story." 

The inscription reads as follows : 

Presented to 

Sergeant HARVEY M. MUNSELL,- 

Color-Bearer 99th Reg't Pa. Vet. Vols., 

By the Officers, for 
Meritorious Conduct on the above Fields. 

When the Colonel had finished his remarks, I was found 
blubbering too. I had always been considered iron-clad, 
and bomb-proof, but when it came to being bombarded with 
tears in that fashion, I surrendered, thanked the officers 
for the beautiful gift, and told them I had only done my 
duty as I understood it. If I had been the means of aid- 
ing, in the slightest degree, in maintaining the good reputa- 
tion of the Ninety-ninth, I was extremely happy, but it 
could only have been accomplished under certain condi- 
tions ; viz., by the aid of the officers and soldiers of that 
grand old regiment, who vigorously sustained me at all 
times, and more particularly at the critical moment in all 
the great battles in which we had been engaged. I was 



ANOTHER PRESENTIMENT. I^^ 

proud to say, not a solitary officer or man had ever been 
found wanting in a fight with the enemy,— that we had 
stood by each other, in fighting our battles with the com- 
mon enemy ; and because we were all of one mind, and 
stood by each other, shoulder to shoulder, we invariably 
won our battles. I again thanked them for their good 
opinion, and the honor bestowed upon me, and closed the 
'' little entertainment " by banqueting every one present 
with lemonade and ice-cream. 

WHAT CAME OF A PRESENTIMENT. 

Soon after I re-enlisted for the war, a feeling came over 
me, a sort of presentiment, — as in the case of Broadbent 
and Herbster, — that the next battle in which I carried the 
flag, I should be killed. That ugly sensation hung over me 
all the time I was home on my veteran furlough. 

On the re-assembling of the regiment at a camp near 
Philadelphia, after its leave of absence had expired, I 
brought the matter before my captain, and he tried to get 
my furlough extended sixty days, but without avail. The 
commanding ofificer of that department said it could not 
be done, — that every able-bodied man was wanted and 
needed at the front. From Philadelphia, the regiment 
went to Washington on its way to the field. 

I still kept on wondering how I could ho7iorably get rid 
of carrying the "old flag" in the next battle, and at last an 
idea struck me. 

The Government wanted officers for colored troops, and 
^s there was a free military school in Philadelphia for 



I 36 WITH THE COLORS IN WAR TIME. 

applicants for commissions, I thought I would now try 
the Secretary of War. 

One afternoon I took my Kearney medal, and the flag 
presented by the officers, and started to see the Secre- 
tary of War. When I arrived at the War Department it 
was late, and many were ahead of me, on various kinds of 
business. Mr. Stanton received and listened to each man 
in his turn. It was nearly dark when it came my turn 
to meet the War Minister. Just before Mr. Stanton was 
ready to leave for home, I introduced myself to him ; 
he appeared tired and worn out by the day's work, and 
spoke short, and treated me rudely. Wanted to know 
what I was doing there, away from my regiment at that 
time of day. I answered politely, and at the same time 
unfurled my flag, and showed him the battles on it, and 
the inscription on the silver plate. There was only a dim 
light in his office, and I remember how he went and hunted 
a match, lit up everything that could be lighted, and then 
called in some staff officers and others to look at the flag. 
It was simply a grand, impromptu reception. Scarcely a 
word had passed between us up to that moment, but he 
looked first at me, then at the flag, and then at his army of 
aides. 

Finally Mr. Stanton asked me what I wanted. I told 
him I was a coward, and wanted to get out of the next 
fight. That blunt answer to his question nearly threw 
him into convulsions of laughter, and at the same time he 
whipped out of his side pocket a little memorandum book, 
and asked if there were any more '' cowards " like me in my 
regiment? I answered, "Yes, all alike," He took my 



SECRETARY STANTON'S ACTION. 



137 



name off of the silver plate on the flag-staff, wrote it in his 
book, and then asked for two more. I gave him the names 
of Captain John W. Moore and Lieutenant A. W. Bach- 
man, the latter a 2d lieutenant of my own company. At 
his request I gave him a short account of my service, and 
also told him about my '' presentiment." 

Mr. Stanton was apparently pleased with my record, for 
he said, in the presence of everybody there, when shaking 
me by the hand, that I was the only stranger, either soldier 
or civilian, who had ever asked him for a favor, without be- 
ing loaded down with letters, and who had brought such 
a living testimonial of any service they had rendered the 
United States Government. Those were about his words. 
He kept right on in the same strain, as follows : '^ I'll dis- 
charge you ; I'll promote you to a commissioned officer in 
the Regular Army ; I'll do anything in my power for you. 
Sergeant Munsell." 

That was certainly the happiest moment of my life, and 
I was almost willing to go back to my regiment, take the 
" Old Flag " into the next light, and be shot. I told Mr. 
Stanton, when thanking him, I did not want to be dis- 
charged or promoted, or anything of the kind ; but sim- 
ply wanted a furlough to attend the " Free Military 
School," in Philadelphia. He sat down and filled one out 
for me, himself, leaving it undated. He then wrote a letter 
to my colonel, requesting him to date the leave of absence 
the day I left the regiment, leaving the time optional with 
me. I took said furlough and letter to the Colonel, and he 
became furious ; tore up both of them, and put me in the 
cruard-house. Late that nigrht the gruard let me out, and 



138 WITH THE COLORS IN WAR TIME. 

I went direct to Mr. Stanton's home and reported my 
trouble. He in turn became furious at the Colonel, wrote 
me another furlough, and sent me back to my regiment 
with an escort. This time the good colonel respected every- 
thing, and everybody, but Mr. Stanton never forgot the 
insult to his authority. 

I attended the ''Free Military School," then went before 
the Board of Examiners in Washington, and passed for 
what was then called a "ist Class, First Lieutenant," for a 
company of colored troops. The great battle of Spottsyl- 
vania had been fought in the mean time, and I having -^wz- 
ctssiuWy flajikcd it, took " French leave " of Washington and 
started for my old regiment at the front, arriving there just 
in time to take part in the battle of Cold Harbor, and all 
subsequent battles with the regiment, including those 
around Petersburg, and the first battle at Deep Bottom. 

While absent at the military school, I had been pro- 
moted to first lieutenant in my own company, C, 99th 
Pa. Vols., and took command as lieutenant in the regiment, 
at Cold Harbor, having been excused from going into a 
colored regiment. Then Captain Moore, Lieutenant Bach- 
man and myself were ordered home to raise a new regiment. 
That was the trio Mr. Stanton took down in his memo- 
randum book, and through him and General Birney the 
order was obtained. Moore was to have been colonel, 
Bachman, lieutenant-colonel, and I major, of the new regi- 
ment. 

PRISON AND PROxMOTION. 

Just before we could start home to recruit the new regi^ 
ment, I was taken prisoner. Moore and Bachman raised 



HOW TO MAKE CONSCE/PTS FIGHT. i^g 

the new regiment,— the 203d Penna. Vols.,— in Philadel- 
phia, in less than a month, and immediately marched with 
it to North Carolina. Colonel Moore was killed while lead- 
ing the 203d Pa., in the assault on Fort Fisher, and Bach- 
man was promoted colonel. 

Immediately after the battle of Cold Harbor, General 
Grant moved the Army of the Potomac to the south side 
of James River, in front of Petersburg, Va., and on June 
17 or 18, 1864, the day after its arrival there, it fought 
a desperate battle in trying to capture that city. 

Our brigade had just received several invoices of raw re- 
cruits, made up in most part of conscripts, who were in- 
clined to be anything but patriotic and soldierly, — declared 
they wouldn't fight, and if taken into a battle would either 
desert to the enemy in front, or run away to the rear. 
They made no secret of their designs, so the commanders 
of regiments and brigades were compelled to take prompt 
and decisive action to thwart them, and they did it in the 
following way. More than half of the soldiers in the brig- 
ade were old veterans, and they were detailed and divided 
up into two parts, one part to be equally distributed 
throughout each company in every regiment, and the other 
part was sent out on the skirmish line, in charge of an offi- 
cer. I was placed in charge of those in front of our regi- 
ment, and before advancing to our position, each man was 
supplied with a spade, one day's rations of food and water, 
and 60 rounds of ammunition. 

Under cover of the darkness, about two o'clock in the 
mornine, we advanced on our hands and knees to within a 
few hundred feet of the rebel skirmish line, and then each 



140 



WITH THE COLORS IN WAR TIME. 



man dug a hole, large and deep enough to lie down and 
move about in comfortably, without being seen by the 
enemy. When daylight came our work was completed, and 
the rebels knew nothing about it. At 3 o'clock that after- 
noon the troops advanced to give battle to the enemy. The 
moment it had passed the skirmish line, which was itself a 
line of battle, in single file beneath the surface, the old 
veterans in the reoriments in front were ordered to shoot or 
bayonet any conscript refusing to fight, or caught deserting 
to the enemy, and the old soldiers in their holes on the 
skirmish line were sternly ordered to instantly kill any man 
trying to pass to the rear, unless wounded. There the 
poor conscripts were between two fires, — viz., the fire of 
the enemy in front, and the fire of their friends in the 
rear; besides the fire of the veterans in the ranks right 
alongside of them. They were completely cornered, and 
had to fight or die ; so rather than die without any show 
whatever for their lives, they stood square up to the rack 
and took their chances with the rest of us, and fought like 
demons. From that time on we had no more trouble with 
'' drafted men." 

During that battle the 99th had two adjutants killed. 
One, the regular adjutant of the regiment, was killed at the 
front, carrying orders to and fro. The Colonel appointed 
another on the spot, and sent him to the rear for some- 
thing. There, over half a mile from the skirmish line and 
the battlefield, and down in an immense ravine, where it 
seemed to be entirely free from danger, the new adjutant 
stopped to wash his hands and face in a little brook, and 
>vhile stooping over a stray bullet from the enemy came 



''MAKING A MAN'' OF ME. I4I 

along and killed him. That adjutant was a poor man, 
while the other one was rich, but the bodies were both 
embalmed and sent home at the same time, to their rela- 
tives in Philadelphia. By a strange coincidence, the names 
and addresses to be placed on the boxes containing the 
remains, were by mistake changed ; that error caused 
great confusion in Philadelphia, for the box containing the 
remains of the poor man went to the rich man's relatives, 
and the other went to the poor man's friends. When the 
mistake was discovered, the wealthy people defrayed all 
the funeral expenses. 

In a little over a month after that battle I was captured 
on the skirmish line, at a place north of the James River, 
called *' Deep Bottom"; it was about the time of the 
great **JVIine explosion" in front of Petersburg. 

Our lines were not long enough by a mile or so, and the 
rebels came right around on our flank and rear. Before we 
knew it, more than a dozen of us were between two fires, 
and compelled to surrender or die. 

Not being ready to die just then, we surrendered. A 
rebel captain kicked off a board from a fence near, grabbed 
me by the shoulders, dragged me through, and said he 
** would make a man of me." While saying that, he took 
my hat, a bran new one, put it on his own head, and 
placed his own old, greasy, slouch hat on my head, pulling 
it way down over my eyes and ears. The ridiculous busi- 
ness made us both laugh, right in the midst of the fighting, 
^nd as he was ordering me to the rear, a shell from a mor- 
tar on one of our gun-boats in the James River came along, 
burst, and blew him to atoms. I made my way to the rear 
and to Libby Prison, under guard, just as fast as I could. 



142 WITH THE COLORS IN WAR TIME. 

In about a month from that date, our army had a fight 
with the rebels on the Weldon Railroad, near Petersburg, 
and lost several thousand men, taken prisoners. The fol- 
lowing day the prisoners were brought to Richmond, and 
among them a few wounded colored men. They were all 
passed in review before " Dick " Turner, the fiend in 
charge of Libby Prison. The column stopped, and a 
wounded colored soldier, on crutches, who had almost bled 
to death, dropped down in his tracks, and Dick Turner 
gave him several heavy kicks trying to get him up. We 
hooted at him, through the prison grates. He ordered us 
back from the windows, under penalty of Instant death. 
We, like good soldiers, obeyed. At lO o'clock that night 
we were aroused from our slumbers by the music of a brass 
band marching into the prison, up stairs, and right into our 
sleeping apartment, a room fifty or sixty feet long, and 
about twenty feet wide. Said band was at the head of a 
file of rebel soldiers, with loaded guns and fixed bayonets 
commanded by '^ Dick," himself. He marched the band 
and soldiers around the room about half an hour, made 
every one of us (about 400, all officers) fall into line, between 
a double guard of rebel soldiers, at a charge bayonet, and 
then told us to commence *' marking time," and ordered the 
guard to shoot or bayonet the first man who stopped be- 
fore daylight the next morning, — said he would teach us 
to " hoot " at him again. That was the hardest night's 
work I ever did, and on an empty stomach too, for the 
wretch had cut off our rations of corn bread for that after- 
noon and evening. 

prom Libby we were taken to Salisbury, N. C, where 



PRISON- EXPERIENCES. 



143 



there were about ten thousand of our enlisted men, prison- 
ers of war. Nothing but a line of rebel guards separated 
the men from the officers within the enclosure, called a 
stockade. So we commenced to plot and plan for a break 
and escape. 

SUCCOR BY PROXY. 

By an oversight on our part the rebels found it out, and 
immediately sent the officers to Danville, Va., and there 
put us in an old tobacco warehouse that contained three 
floors. In order to be out of the way, I took up my posi- 
tion on the third floor, in the corner farthest from the 
stairs. A few days after our arrival there, a rebel officer 
came to the head of the stairs, on the floor where I existed, 
mounted an empty candle-box, and called out as follows; 

"Any you Yanks who would like to supply food to 
my brother, now a prisoner of war on Johnson's Island, 
Lake Erie, captured at Gettysburg, I will furnish you in 
return." Every officer jumped at the chance, and then I 
commenced to bemoan my situation, condemned myself 
for taking up a position so far from the head of the stairs, 
and mentally resolved never to do such a foolish thing 
again. There was a regular scramble among the officers to 
see who would be the " lucky one," when the rebel captain 
firmly told everybody he would not furnish them with any- 
thing until he first heard that his brother had been sup- 
plied. I saw and heard it all, and I saw every man leave 
the Captain as if by magic. Then I jumped up, and yelled 
at the top of my voice, saying /would do it. He instantly 
discovered me, pointed and yelled at the top of his voice, 



144 



WITH THE COLORS IN WAR TIME. 



saying, '' You are just the man I am looking for. I thought 
there was one honest man in this crowd, who was wiUing to 
trust me." He was Captain Hutter, a resident of Lynch- 
burg, Va. 

Although a rebel, he was an honest, upright, whole- 
souled man. He commenced supplying me from that 
moment, and kept it up till I was released from captivity. 
His brother wrote him from Johnson's Island, Lake Erie, 
that I had more than kept my part of the compact. That 
my friends had taken clothing, provisions, and money in 
great abundance to him, but as the United States Govern- 
ment was retaliating on prisoners of war, he was not allowed 
to accept. He wrote his brother in Danville the strongest 
letters in my behalf, telling him to do anything he could 
for me, which his brother in Danville did, from first to last ; 
fed me, and several of my prison friends, sumptuously. 
Went all the way to Richmond, and made " Dick " Turner, 
of Libby Prison, surrender all the money he had robbed us 
of when captured. Procured a special order from the C. S. 
Government for my exchange ; this was not used by me, 
as the general parole of prisoners was near at hand. He 
had me measured for a suit of clothes that was to have cost 
twenty-seven hundred and fifty dollars, in rebel money, but 
did not wait to get them, because I had to go North before 
they were finished."^ That was in 1865, just before the 
close of the war, when everything in the South was dear 
and scarce, and a barrel of flour was worth twelve hundred 
and fifty dollars. 

* It was said Captain Hutter was a son of one of the wealthiest men in the South be- 
fore the war. Owned several plantations, and several hundred slaves. Captain Hutter 
was ordnance officer at Danville, Va., at the time he met me in prison. 



WHEN JOHNNJk COMES MARCHING HOME: 



W, 



A TRANSFORMATION. 

On returning to my regiment, May 17, 1865, after I had 
been declared exchanged, I found a letter from the Ad- 
jutant-general of PennsyK^ania, enclosing me a commission 
as Captain of Company C, 99th Regiment, Pa. Veteran 
Volunteers, to rank from September 12, 1864. I was then 
just a little past twenty-one, and captain of the same 
company, in the same regiment, in which I enlisted as a 
"high private" in 1861, when but a little over eighteen 
years of age. This is a fac- 
simile of a photograph taken 
of me in a captain's uniform, 
July, 1865, soon after the 
war ended. My long and te- 
dious experience as a pris- 
oner of war had worn me 
down, and made me look 
thin and pale. However, I 
did not mind that, for look- 
ing back over my four long 
}'ears of the most active kind of service, barely touched 
upon in this article, I could not but feel thankful for hav- 
ing passed through the whirlpool of excitement and danger 
unharmed. Besides all that, the final victory had been 
gained. Slavery obliterated, the Rebellion crushed, and 
the Union saved. 

But what a contrast. The little, scrawny, eighteen-year- 
old boy, with a knapsack on his back, marching down 
Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, a Private in the rear 




146 WITH THE COLORS IN WAR TIME. 

rank, and at the tail end of the regiment, in July, 1861 ; — 
and the same person marching down the same thorough- 
fare, after the war was over, Captain, commanding Com- 
pany Cj of the same regiment, during the Great Review, 
by the President and his Cabinet, of two hundred thou- 
sand men. • 

February 9th, 1866, the Secretary of War sent me a 
*' Medal of Honor," accompanied by a letter of transmittal. 

"War Department, Adjutant-General's Office, 
" Washington, February 9, 1866. 
**Sir: — Herewith I enclose the Medal of Honor which has been awarded 
you by the Secretary of War, under the Resolution of Congress, approved 
July 12, 1862, To provide for the presentation of 'Medals of Honor' to 
the Enlisted Men of the Army and Volunteer forces who have distinguished 
or may distinguish themselves in battle during the present Rebellion. 
" Please acknowledge its receipt. 

" Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
" (Signed) E. D. Townsend, 

" Assistant Adjutant-General, 
*'To Harvey M. Munsell, Late Color-Sergt., 99th Regiment, P. V. V." 




battle-flag 99TH lA. \ OLUN IEERS. 

(carried through 13 BATTLES BY SERGEANT MUNSELLj 



PLUCKING VICTORY FROM DEFEAT. 

PATRICK GINLEY was born in Ireland, Dec. nth, 
1822. His fondness for a military life developed 
early in life, and as a result, at twenty years of age, he 
enlisted in the Fifth Dragoon Guards of the British Army, 
and served eleven 3 ears. He re-enlisted in the Eighteenth 
Royal Irish Infantry, where he served six years. He 
served in the Crimea and was at the battles of Balak- 
lava, Inkcrman and Sebastopol. He also served in 
India during the mutin3\ Ginley came to this country 
in 1858, and made New York City his home. In 1859 ^^^ 
joined the 69th New York State Militia, and was with 
the regiment during its three months' service in 1861. 

Ginley was one of the first to re-enlist for the war when 
the regiment returned from Washington, and he served 
in the 69th Volunteers, until he was assigned to Hogan's 
battery. In May, 1862, he was attached to Ames' battery, 
First New York iVrtillery. He served in this battery 
until ^lav, 1864, when he was detailed as mounted orderly 
at Headquarters, Artillery Brigade , Second Army Corps. 
It was while on this detail that this brave soldier won 
the Medal of Honor. 

H7 




148 



GtNLEVS LOST SHOT. 149 

During the battle of Reams' Station, Ginle}^ was told 
by General Hancock to accompany Colonel Walker, who 
was directed to go to General Barlow and find out what 
Confederate troops were in his front. On their way 
there they were exposed to a severe crossfire. To avoid 
this as much as possible, they made their way through a 
cut, which the orderl}^ had passed through some time 
before, and which led to some breastworks which had 
been occupied by our troops. These works were now 
held by the enemy, who were concealed behind their 
Colonel Walker, who was in advance, not knowinjr this, 
rode up to the breastworks and was immediatel}- made a 
prisoner. When Ginley saw this, he wheeled his horse 
around with the intention of escaping', but the enemy 
Wvcd at him and his hoi'se fell, pierced by several bullets. 
When the brave soldier, who was unharmed, extricated 
himself from his fallen horse, he found himself h ing near 
a piece of artillerv which had been abandoned and which 
was partially concealed from the enemv. He crawled 
over to it for shelter, but, seeing several charges of can- 
ister lying beside it, the idea came to him to load the gun. 
With tiie assistance of a Massachusetts soldier who was 
lying concealed near the gun, he rammed home three 
charges. The eneni}- discovered him. at his v/ork, and 
called out to him to surrender, as they came swarming 
out of the works veiling. Ginle}' pulled the lanyard, 
and there was a volcano of fire and smoke and screaming 
canister. He started to the rear, and in a few minutes 
ran into a Massachusetts regiment. His brave deed had 
been witnessed by our troops, and he was received with 



150 PLUCKING VICTORY FROM DEFEAT, 

cheers. Our line, having been re-enforced, was now 
advancing, and Ginley with them. For awhile he assisted 
in the I2th New York Battery, carrying ammunition — 
but soon the infantry passed the guns, and seizing the 
colors of a regiment which had just been dropped by the 
color-bearer, who was shot, he ran ahead of the regiment, 
cheering them on. Soon the enemy gave way, and he 
planted the Rag on the breastworks where only a short 
time before he had fired the gun. The deadly effect of 
those three charges of canister could be plainly seen. 
The brave Massachusetts soldier who had assisted him 
was lying near the gun dead, not having been so fortu- 
nate as our hero in getting away. 

The following letters bear testimony to the gallantry 
of Private Ginley : 

I. 

Reams Station, Sept. 2T,rd, 1864. 
Sir,— The bearer of this note. Private Patrick Ginley, of Battery 
G, I St N. Y. Artillery, distinguished himself in the battle of Reams 
Station, August 25th. General Hunt desires that some report favorable 
to the bearer be made out, enabling him to be recommended for a medal, 
as, after having his horse shot, he served voluntarily with your batteiy. 
You will be kind enough to attend to this immediately, as his time 
expires on the 27lh inst. 

Very respectfully, W. S. Worth, 

Captain 8th U. S, Infantry, and Chief of General Hunt's Staff. 
To Commanding Officer 12th N. Y. Battery. 



HONORABLE MENTION, 151 

II. 

Camp in front of Petersburg, 

1 2th N. Y. Battery, Sept. i^rd, 1864. 
I take pleasure in recommending- to fa.'orable notice and suitable 
award. Private Patrick Ginley, Co., G. ist N. Y. Artillery, acting 
orderly in the Artillery Brigade, 2nd Army Cori)s. Private Ginley came 
under my i)articular notice in the action of Aug. 25th, 1864, at Reams 
Station, Va., where he was most efficient in assisting my cannoneers in 
carrying ammunition while the enemy were advancing upon the Battery, 
remaining with me until the enemy were close upon the guns, and 
then participating with the infantry in retaking the breastworks. 

G. W. Dauchy, 
Lt. Commanding 12th N. Y. Battery. 

Private Ginley's term of service expired Sept. 27tli, 
1864, but he refused to take his discharge, and he 
remained as vohinteer orderly at Second Corps Head- 
quarters until Lee's surrender. 




SERGEANT JOHN H. COOK. 

II9TH ILLINOIS VOL. INFANTRY. 

MAD, CLEAR THROUGH." 



IN offering a sketch of my military career for publica- 
tion, I do it reluctantly, knowing I am far less worthy 
a place in History than many others whose names are men- 
tioned in the War Department list, in a single line, or 
those whose brave deeds will never be known. 

It was a long while ago, but there were scenes in my 
soldier life that memory recalls so vividly that they seem 
but yesterday. But I do not have to trust, entirely, to 
memory to tell my little story, as one of the '' Medal of 
Honor B( ys," of how I won my country's decoration. 

My mother, God bless her ! preserved all my war let- 
ters, numbering nearly one hundred. They are all in my 
possession now. They were written and mailed as regu- 
larly as possible, for I knew she was anxious to hear 
from her boy. I often turn to these quaint old letters for 

152 



FORAGIXG. 



153 



data and particulars of my soklier life. They are typical 
of a hot-headed soldier boy, filled with predictions of 
how soon the war would end, and of criticisms of what 
our Generals had done and should do. But, mainly 
chronicled fr(jm my diary, they tell of our marches, cam- 
paigns, battles and every important event that befel us, 
dwelling particularly on the doings oi my own Company, 
Regiment and Brigade. 

In August, 1862, I enlisted in Co. A, 119th Illinois In- 
fantry, at Camp Wood, Ouincy, 111. In a few days I was 
promoted to Sergeant. It was not long before our thirst 
for gore was somewhat satisfied by an order sending us 
to Tennessee, where we were strung out on a long line 
to guiird a railroad. 

( )ur C()h)nel, and three companies were taken prison^ 
ers by General Forrest's force of nearly 10,000. 

My company built a stockade at Bunt^ n Station, and 
we worked hard to make our fortification invincible. 
We remained at this place, waiting for orders to move ; 
but none connng, we were soon out of provisions and 
liad to sul:>sist on what we C(juld " forage " from the 
plantations aiound us. 

This section of the country was then full of armed 
" Guerrillas," and we began to suffer hunger before we 
ventured out, in small squads, to hunt for rebel planta- 
tions ; but we had to do it or starve. I shall never forget 
owiz of our midiiiglit raids, wdien our captain and most 
of the company marched out nearly ten miles, arriv- 
ing at a large plantation an hour before daylight. We 
marched ncjiselessly up on the long porch, and *' ordered 



154 



MAD, CLEAR THROUGH: 



arms" with such a '* sickening thud" that it scared 
the old planter out of his wits. The darkies were sum- 
moned to prepare breakfast for us, an^ soon we were 
scattered about in squads in the different cabins, watch- 
ing the baking of corn pones and sweet potatoes. Soon, 
well satisfied with the best breakfast we had tasted for 
many a day, we loaded up two wagons and returned to 
our stockade. 

One of the boys thought he would carry home a bee- 
hive of hone}^ ; he shouldered it and ran for sweet life, 
thinking the bees would f^y out from the bottom of the 
hive and leave hini the sole possessor of the honey ; but 
the bees attacked him so vigorously that he was glad to 
drop the hive and run still faster. He- was a sorry look- 
ing object when daylight disclosed his features, his face 
being swollen to nearly twice its natural size. 

We were finally flooded out of our quarters by heavy 
rains. Cold weather set in and we had to wade nearly a 
quarter of a mile, knee deep in water, breaking the ice at 
every step. Finally we joined our regiment ; our colonel 
and the three companies having been exchanged, we 
were once more all together. From here we went to 
Memphis, where we lay in camp and drilled until we 
were thoroughly disciplined soldiers. 

In those days we did not believe that discipline and 
drill were necessary to make good soldiers. In this we 
had tiie backing of Col. Ingersol, commander of another 
Illinois regiment, who thoroughly despised what he 
called the *' show business." He believed that his regi- 
xnent would make up in bravery what it lacked in disci- 



" PINAFORE ' ' DISCIPLINE. 1 5 5 

pline. I remember an anecdote which fully illustrated 
his regard for his men, as well as his good heart. 

It was just before the command moved South that the 
colonel was to be married. The weather was as disagree- 
able as one could imagine — snow, ice and cutting winds. 
Nevertheless the guards were on duty, just the same as 
they were where the fighting was expected. All of the 
arrangements for the marriage of the commander were 
made, when he rode out to the fair grounds to see the 
boys. Riding around the lines he discovered the pickets 
shivering, and his sympathies were thoroughly aroused. 
Finally he was halted by one poor fellow. 

*' Colonel," said he, " I am about to freeze. You must 
give me a bottle of whiskey, an overcoat, or relieve me, 
or you will move to the front with one less private." 

"■ You shall have all three," replied the colonel, and 
suiting the action to the word, he pulled off his overcoat, 
and as he h.in led it to the man, said : 

*' There's the overcoat. In the inside pocket you will 
find a bottle of whiskey, and you are relieved from duty." 

I passed nearly three months in the Union Hospital, 
was reported to my compan}^ as dead ; but I was a tough 
boy, got well, and rejoined my command in time for 
General Sherman's raid from Vicksburg to Meridian and 
back, a distance of nearly four hundred miles. 

About half way to Meridian we formed a junction 
with the 17th Army Corps. Our regiment was (tired out 
with the day's march of thirty miles, when, just at dark, 
our corps commander. General Hurlbut, issued orders 
Xhat >ye should pass the 17th Corps before halting. W^ 



156 MAD, CLEkR THROUGH. 

had just struck the rear of that command, which was 
strung- out ahead of us for nearly twenty miles. Fo(jt- 
sore, tired, hungry and sleepy, we trudged along. F(jr 
awhile the air was blue with lanj^uage which will not 
bear repetition. It was nearly daylight when the frag- 
ment of our regiment halted. There were just four 
muskets of Company A to stack; mine was one of the 
four. The rest of the boys were straggling for nearly 
twenty miles. They had to catch up the next day. 

'' Uncle Billy " simply made us " hump it," until we 
reached our destination. We had but little fighting, 
for the Johnnies skedaddled as fast as we • came on to 
them. 

On our return to Vicksbuig, we received orders to 
join General Banks for his Red River campaign. 

To make this expedition, General Banks was required 
to communicate with Generals Sherman, Steele and 
Admiral Porter, as well as General Grant, and all five of 
these commanders understood and executed their orders 
in the same sense. Banks was assigned to the command, 
and the movement was to begin about the middle of 
Marcli, when Red River would be high and navigation 
on it by gunboats would be practicable. General Sher- 
man promptly arranged to send 10,000 men of the i6th 
and 17th Army Co.ps, under command of General A. J. 
Smith, to join Admiral Porter's fleet of gunboats. We 
arrived at the mouth of Red River on the 13th of March, 
and on the 14th assaulted the works of F'ort De Russy. 
General Smith's loss was 34 killed and wounded. We 
took 260 prisoners, 8 heavy guns, and 2 field pieces. 



SMITH'S GUERRILLASr 



157 



Admiral Porter at once pri^ceeded with his fleet up 
the river, and we, on our transports, landed at Alexan- 
dria ahead of time. Banks, detained in New Orleans, did 
not arrive until the end of March. He then received 
instructions from Lieutenant-General Grant (who had 
just taken command (^f the armies of the U. S.), that 
unless this campaign could be closed by the end of April, 
it should be abandoned. The i6th Corps was then to 
join the Army of the Tennessee for the Atlanta cam- 
paitrn, and Banks was to go against ^^lobile. 

General Halleck's orders were not revoked, and Banks 
was in a dilemma. He decided to tr}^ and take the trick 
before the limit of time set by General Grant. 

1 well remember, when we were landed from our trans- 
ports, the bitter criticism of General Banks, on the disci- 
pline of the i6th Army Corps. Having got a report 
from his reviewing officer as to our manner of straggling 
and procuring " forage," he said : " I asked Sherman for 

io,OD3 of his best men, and he has sent me 10,000 d 

Guerrillas^ From that time until the end of the war, we 
carried with pride, the name of "Smith's Guerrillas." 
For nearly two years we had been constantly in the field, 
nianv times cut off from all supplies, and we had Icanud 
iccll the art of foraging. 

On the 3d of April, Banks' whole army was concentrated 
near Nachitoches. Franklin's Divisions of the 13th and 
19th Army Corps, headed for Shreveport, started on the 
7th. Our i6th Corps, taking up the line of march, now 
numbered 7,000 men, nearly 3,000 having been withdrawn 
to rejoin General McPherson. Meantime, before we 



158 MAD, CLEAR THROUGH. 

reached Pleasant Hill (a distance of 33 miles, which we 
marched in a day and part of the night), the battle of 
Sabine Cross Roads had been fought, the 13th and 19th 
Corps badly whipped, and all hope of taking, or even 
nv7r//?>/^Shreveport was ended. Banks ordered a retreat, 
and at 8 o'clock the next morning, April 9th, his two 
corps took position of defence at Pleasant Hill. The 
wagon train, under escort of a brigade, was started back 
to Grand Ecore. 

Daylight had disclosed to the confederates the retreat 
of the Union forces, but about noon they found an oppos- 
ing solid front. 

I had previously been detailed as clerk to Brigade 
Quartermaster Delos Allen. The soldier who does his 
whole duty is a good enough soldier, but he who does 
more than his duty may be recognized as a better one. 
My duty on the day of the battle of Pleasant Hill was to 
remain at Brigade Headquarters, subject only to the 
order of my Brigade Quartermaster, and had I done so 
on this occasion, I should have been a non-combatant, 
the thought of which was distasteful to my soldier spirit ; 
so I told him I was going into the battle with my com- 
pany. Arming myself with a breech-loading Sharp's 
rifle, and " forty rounds," I joined them, taking my ser- 
geant's place in the rear of the company. I was without 
canteen, haversack or blanket, having only a good big 
plug of tobacco, my rifle and '* forty rounds." 

The position assigned my regiment was on the 
extreme left of the line, my company being posted in 
advance as skirmishers in the woods, We lay in thi§ 



PLEASANT HILL. 1 59 

position from early in the morning until about 3 o'clock 
in the afternoon, witnessing, from our commanding posi- 
tion, the battle on the right and centre. We were 
ordered to hold our position at all hazards, as a flank 
movement of the enemy might be expected at any 
moment, which we must stubbornly resist before falling 
back. 

Our army had rather a disadvantage of ground ; the 
position was easily turned, and we could not stay in it 
for want of ivatcr. None was to be had. About 5 
o'clock, the Confederates, having been heavily re-in- 
forced, made a furious assault on us, hammered in our 
centre, doubled up our right, and fell vigorously on our 
left, which was the weakest part of Gen. Emory's posi- 
tion. Here Benedict's brigade, outnumbered and 
crushed, gave way, and its brave leader fell dead. 

There was nothing left to stop the cyclone now but 
*' Smith's Guerrillas," and it seemed that we, in the 
woods, were to be flanked, and the whole army bagged. 
A sick'^ning feeling came over me as I took in the situa- 
t.'on. But " Smith's Guerrillas " had never been 
whipped; they were now to be put to the test. It was 
not long after we began to move further into the galling 
fire, that we could see the whole of our command advanc- 
ing in a gallant charge. The scene here recalled was 
too vivid to ever pass from my memory. The Rebs 
were coming through the woods to flank us. It looked 
to me like ten to one against us. Brave, dauntless, 
intrepid Lieutenant '* Jack " Ware, took command of our 
skirmishers and ordered me to lead the line. Advancing 



l6o MAD, CLEAR 7 H ROUGH. 

under a heavy musketry fire, and rapidly firing, 1 turned 
back to cheer on ■ the boys, when I saw old John 
Maclntyre, a brave and sturdy Scotchman (he was the 
pet and pride of Co. A.), throw up his left hand and 
fall forward. I ran back to him. Two or three of the 
boys gathered around him and we saw that he was 
instantly killed. Then I was mad — mad clear through. 
I ran forward again, rapidly firing my breech-loader. In 
a moment a musketry fire was focused on me ; the bullets 
whizzed around me thick. One went through my right 
coat sleev^e, another through my hat, and one so close to 
my cheek that 1 could feel it burn ; but I cared nothing 
for life or death. I was in to stay. It seemed to me 
just then that if our little company did not hold our 
ground that we should be flanked and our army 
defeated, and that if /did not do my duty, and cheer on 
our boys, they might not stand. It was here that I won 
my ''Medal of Honor " (upon recommendation of Lieu- 
tenant Ware). I had fired my *' forty rounds," my last 
cartridge was gone ; with my empty breech-loader still 
smoking, I raised it in my right hand, and with my hat 
waving in my left, ran forward, cheering on the boys. 
I felt a good deal as General Corse expressed himself in 
his famous dispatch to General Sherman : " I am out of 
provisions, I have lost an ear and part of a cheek bone, 
but I can whip all hell yet !" 

Well, our brave boys rallied ; it was a sudden rush. 
We took a niunber of prisoners and the Rebs gave way. 
Reinforcements came up, and soon our whole line 
advanced, and Company A shared fully in gaining ^ 




i6i 



1 62 MAD, CLEAR THROUGH. 

great victory. That night, in passing among the dead 
and wounded, on the battlefield, I was implored by many 
for help, but the pleading of a Confederate officer, to 
carry him to the rear, to our field hospital, was more 
than I could withstand. 1 got a stretcher, and with 
another comrade, took him to the surgeon. I wonder if 
he is yet alive ! 

My company held the picket line that night. T had 
had nothing to eat all day. I was not very hungry, for I 
had chewed up my big plug of tobacco, but I was faint, 
and my vitals began to gnaw. Just as it was growing 
dark 1 picked up a haversack, slung it over my shoulder, 
and thrusting my hand into the broken crackers, I dis- 
covered they were saturated with blood — the life blood 
of some poor fellow — but in those daj^s a generous com- 
rade would " divide his last hard tack," and for the ask- 
ing I got half a cracker. It was not a princely banquet. 
We laid down in line, every man with his musket in his 
hand. Worn out from the previous day's march and the 
day's fighting, it took but a moment to hd asleep, but 
constantly changing our position, we could sleep but a 
few minutes at a time. We could plainly hear the rebel 
pickets. General Banks had held a council with his 
generals, and, thinking of his stranded fleet of gunboats 
above the rapids, on the shoals of Red River, and his 
source of supplies in danger of being cut off, he decided 
to retreat. This decision was bitterly opposed by Gen- 
eral Smith, but the retreat was ordered, and we left our 
dead and wounded on the field. We retreated all the 



FIGHT A7 TUPELO. 



163 



next day, and when we halted, we were a tired, worn- 
out lot of stragglers. 

I suppose everybody has heard how Admiral Porter's 
fleet was taken over the rapids, and saved, through the 
skill and genius of Lieutenant Colonel Bailey. We 
fought our way, being harrassed in the rear, all the way 
down to the mouth of Red River, our brigade losing, at 
Yellow Bayou, over two hundred men. 

The campai;^n was a failure ; it was not due to any 
fault of the rank and hie. A more valorous army was 
never in the field. The total force of Banks' Army was 
31,303, his total losses in the campaign 5,245. 

After the Red River campaign, we Avere ordered back 
to Memphis. Forrest, with 10,000 men, had just whipped 
General Sturgis at Guntown, and we were to pay back 
the score, which we did, with good interest, at Tupelo, 
^Nliss. In this battle my duty was carrying ammunition 
to our brio^ade. I was mounted, and took one box of 
cartridges at a time. My horse was shot under me. 
Our boys laid down on the side of a sloping hill, raising 
up only when charged by the Rebs. Every assault was 
repulsed with terrible slaughter. This was the worst 
licking Forrest's command ever got. 

On this expedition we subsisted on quarter rations, 
and green corn plucked from the field. An incident 
occurred on the march back to Memphis, which fondly 
lingers in my memory : Tired out from marching I had 
made up my mind to stop and rest. A short distance 
away, I spied a running stream. Going to it, I saw our 
regimental Quartermaster Sergeant sitting in the shade 



X64 MAD, CLEAR THROUGH. 

of a tree just in the act of opening a can of pine-apple. 
He invited me to share it with him. We look off our 
shoes, bathed our aching feet in the crystal stream and 
enjoyed that delicious pine-apple as I had never before 
or since relished canned fruit. I suppose that little 
stream still murmurs on, but of the " boys in bluj "' who 
tramped on by it, where are they now ! 

Our next campaign was from St. Louis through 
Missouri and back — several hundred miles. \Vj drove 
out Price and his force, and got to Nashville just in time 
to reinforce General Thomas, and there helped fight one 
of the decisive battles of the war. 

If I here pay a tribute to my own company — dear old 
Company A ! — it will not be out of place. 

Leaving Camp Wood, at Ouincy, 111., in 1862, Company 
A, 119th 111. Vols., was 100 strong. When mustered out 
in 1865, but 21 ofificers and men stood in line. 

While General Lee was surrendering the Confederate 
armies to General Grant, at Appomattox, April 9th, 
1865, Company A was charging the works of Fort Blake- 
ley, and seven of our 28 were left on the field. One 
died of starvation, and sleeps with the 14,000 other 
Union martyrs in Andersonville ; another (his brother), 
escaped, but was run down witli bloodhounds, recap- 
tured, escaped again, and finally stood before Abraham 
Lincoln, a helpless and starved cripple for life. 

There was no privation, no fatigue, no hardship, that 
was not experienced by my regiment, and its dead lie 
sleeping in almost every Southern state. 

Let us not forget that noble sentiment ; 



RE TROSPEC no IV. 

" With cheers for the livin; 
With tears for the dead.' 



i6s 



As for myself, I am not so hotheaded and foolhardy 
after 26 years, but, under the same circumstances, I 
might do the same, for I would rather lie buried in the 
briars, brush and woods of Pleasant Hill, and sleep along- 
side of old John Maclntyre, and his many brave com- 
panions, than to be a coward before my comrades, or to 
desert the cause for which we fouprht. 

I think the proudest moment of my life was when 
complimented on the held by Lieutenant Ware. And 
next to that was when I received, from the War Depart- 
ment, the JAv/c?/ of Honor. It came engraved with this 
inscription : 

" The Conorress to Sergeant John H. Cook Company A. 119th Ills. 
Infamry, lur conspicuous bravery, at battle of Pleasant Hill, La., April 
91.;, 1864." 





i66 




MAJOR JOHN D. TERRY. 

TVVENTV-THIKI) MASS. INFANTRY. 

AT THE CANNON'S MOUTH. 



HERE is a soldier-like, modest account by Major 
John D. Terry, U. S. V., of the way in which 
he lost a foot and gained promotion and the Medal. 
Although he sought, and found, literally in the cannon's 
mouth, what men call Reputation, it has proved more 
enduring than the '' bubble " of which the poet speaks. 

'' On the 13th day of March, 1862, the 23d Regiment 
Mass. Vols., landed some fifteen miles below Newberne, 
N. C, mv arm still very sore and lame from a contused 
wound received in the fight at Roanoke Island, some 
few weeks before. Company '* E," in which I was a ser- 
geant, was recruited in the old historic town of Ply- 
mouth, Mass., of strong, healthy, robust young fellows, all 
of whom were accustomed to the management of boats, 

167 



l68 ^^ ^^^ OAiVNOJV'S MOUTH. 

and therefore we were detailed to man the boats and 
disembark the regiment. I had charge of the vessel's 
*' cutter," and worked very hard in order to make the 
most landings. After the regiment was all ashore we 
took up line of march by the right flank towards New- 
berne. It came on to rain very hard and the narrow road 
was in bad condition. Just before dark we went into 
bivouac in the woods, on the left of the road, having 
marched about thirteen miles that day, very hungry, 
cold, wet, sore and tired. My arm became very painful, 
and to sleep was entirely out of the question, and to 
make a lire was contrary to orders. Daylight, however, 
broke at last and with a little half cooked coffee and well 
soaked crackers, we were soon on our way to '' do or die," 
and almost before we knew it, were under fire, shooting 
away for dear life. In going from the road into and up 
through a little ravine — column of fours — the Colonel 
(John Kurtz) passed us and called to me to go with him. 
I had been acting as right general guide of the regi- 
ment. Soon afterwards the Cjlonel ordered me to go 
down the rear of the line and find the Lieutenant-Colo- 
nel. In obeying this order I saw that the regimental 
line was very ragged ; everybody seemed to be all mixed 
up with one another, and badly scattered from their own 
companies. I sought out Company E, and found the 
men brave as young lions, but in bad order and no offi- 
cer in command — captain wounded. I immediately re- 
ported these facts to the Colonel, whereupon to my great 
astonishment and delight, he ordered me to go back and 
take command of the company. I did so, and succeeded 



FRUITS OF VICTORY. 169 

in getting the men well up and together, and they very 
soon became steady as old veterans. We had been tiring 
some little time when the Lieutenant-Colonel came to me 
and asked if I saw a single gun (12 Ibr.) that the enemy 
had got out in front of '' Fort Thompson," — this fort 
contained 12 guns. 1 answered him that I did. This 
single gun was doing our ranks great injury. 

The Lieutenant-Colonel then asked me if I thought we 
could charge and take it. We charged, we got the gun, 
the very last shot from which, before we reached it, got 
me with seven other comrades — including the Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel, killed. My foot was gone, and we were 
left on the field in very nearly the same spot as where we 
fell. Our regiment claimed this gun, and General Burn- 
side ordered that it should remain with the regiment. 
Some days after the fight (and my foot had been ampu- 
tated) Colonel Kurtz and General Burnside visited the 
Hospital (Academy), and the Colonel told me that I 
should have a commission. I got that, and the Con< 
gressional * Medal of Honor besides." 





I/O 




LIEUT. S. N. BENJAMIN. 

SECOND U. S. ARTILLEKY. 

THE PATH OF DUTY, THE ROAD TO GLORY. 

IN nearly all great wars, the warriors may be divided 
into two classes — the Volunteer and the Professional. 
The Yolunteer, called to arms to support a great prin- 
ciple, to preserve a good government or Bozzaris-like to 
" strike for altars and fires," is as innocent of warlike 
arts as the youthful David, but imbued with similar con- 
hdence he marches forth to meet Goliath, and in time 
comes back the peer in prowess of the soldier of the 
schools. 

The Regular, having made a business of soldiering 
during long and comparatively peaceful years, welcomes 
the st(3rm of strife with true professional ardor. He 
feels that his special training, experience in martial 
detail, habits of subordination, ability to cope with 
emergencies, power to plan and direct campaigns, are at 

.J7X 



172 TtVO TYPES OF SOLDIERS. 

last to be tested. He may, or may not, be in sympathy 
with the causes of the war. But '* he knows his duty," 
and quietly goes about its performance. 

The true Volunteer type is sustained by patriotism 
and enthusiasm ; he represents the " People in Arms." 
H^ is often demonstrative, and seasons war's rude alarm 
with shouts and songs and noise galore. 

The Regular is restrained by his second nature. Disci- 
pline, from imitating his volunteer neighbor save in thcit 
camaraderie inseparable from soldier life, and when let 
loose in the phrenzy of the charge. At other times he is 
given to contemplation of prosaic things, like muster 
rolls, mules, clothing accounts, and the tendencies of cer- 
tain guard-house birds. Withal he is a model of endur- 
ance and obedience, and coolness under fire. 

Opposed to each other, these elements have brought 
ab:)ut the collapse of empires ; united, they have 
cemented, for all time, the subdivisions of the greatest 
Republic of modern times. 

The sketch which follows, happily illustrates this desir- 
able co-operation, and sets forth in some detail the sym- 
pathetic service of both elements, the brave deeds of a 
Regular told by his comrades of the Volunteers. 

Samuel N. Benjamin came of good Revolutionary 
stock, and after a careful home training was sent to the 
U. S. Military Academy at West Point, N. Y., from which 
he was graduated a Second Lieutenant May 6th, 1861, 
and was assigned to the Second United States Artillery. 

From the first, Benjamin seems to have attracted the 
attention of his superiors for devotion to dutv and con- 



THE PATH OF DUTY. I'j^ 

spicLious ability as the commander of a light battery — 
"the handsomest comnip.nd in the Army " as it has been 
called. And to this he had been detailed, owing to the 
scarcity of trained artillerists at the outbreak of the 
war. 

His first service was at Bull Run, where he commanded 
a section, and was reported as having " displayed great 
coolness, energy and skill." Later on, he was working 
like a beaver on the Peninsula, where, on crutches, he 
fought his battery, and where the gallant Kearny, after 
inquiring whose battery continued to fire from such 
a perilous position, exclaimed, '' It must be — for nobody 
but Benjamin would remain in such a hell-hole !"* In 
reporting the operations of his command to the Chief of 
Artillery, Captain Carlisle, referring to *' Garnett's 
Farm " and *' Malvern Hill," says of Lieutenant Benjamin 
that : " It is unnecessary for me to recount his valor and 
untiring energy from the day the battery left Washing- 
ton ; and in the affairs of the last week he was always 
present with the battery, directing and encouraging the 
men, although so entirely disabled as to be unable to 
stand without crutches, and could only be carried on a 
gun-carriage." 

" When General Reno was preparing to leave Fred- 
ericksburg, Lieutenant Benjamin learned, at the last 
hour, that it had been decided not to include his battery 
in that general's command, and he at once sought an 

* Remarks of Comrade L. C. Brackett, before Lafayette Post G. A. 
R., May 26th, 1886. 



m 



A HEAVY FIELD BATTERY. 



interview with General Burnslde, who stated that both 
Generals Reno and Stevens thought his twenty-pounders 
too far removed from a light battery to undertake forced 
marches, and perchance forced fighting while * on the 
wing,' but that the matter was entirely in the hands of 
General Reno. The lieutenant at once appealed to that 
commander, who said that his battery was to have been 
assigned to General Stevens' Division, but that that officer 
felt, as did General Burnside aid himself, that it might 
prove cumbersome ; but if General Stevens desired the 
battery, well and good. Seeking the presence of Gen- 
eral Stevens, who already admired the spirit of the 
young officer, he was assured that nothing but the heavy 
guns presented their mutual wishes from being gratified, 
but, in face of objections raised, he could not take the 
responsibility. 

'* ' Suppose I should move out with your column ?' said 
the lieutenant. 

'''Then I should be obliged to take care of you,' 
replied the gallant Stevens. 

" General Stevens never regretted the hint contained 
in his reply to the zealous Benjamin. The march to 
Raccoon Ford on the Rapidan, to Kelly's Ford on the 
Rappahannock (crossings the enemy found covered by 
the able Reno), developed the fact that Benjamin and his 
brave lieutenants. Lord, Graves, and Keeffe, with their 
gallant men, could make a light battery of twenty- 
pounders.' And so it proved on all the marches to 
August 29th, when, at Second Bull Run, to the jsnemy it 
proved a ' heavy field battery ' — so heavy, indeed, that 



THE PATH OF DUTY. 



175 



the enemy found it necessary to concentrate the fire of 
two full six-gun batteries, and a section of another to 
prevent its destructive work. 

** I rem'^mber well this unequal duel when his battery 
of four twenty-pounders, supported by the gallant 
Roundheads, fought against such fearful odds. At tiniss, 
as I glanced from our pjsition, I could sse neithi^r men 
nor g.in, so dense was tlie smoke from his firing, and 
from the enemy's bursting shells. 

" The battery having suffered heavily in killed and 
wounded, and one gun disabled beyond further use. 
General Stevens, feeling that the sacrihce would be too 
great if allowed to battle longer against the enemy's 
fourteen pieces, ordered its withdrawal for the time 
being. On engaging the foe. Lieutenant Benjamin 
parted compan}' with one of his crutches, and before 
executing the ord^r to retire, he buried from the eyes of 
the enemy his crippled gun. 

" Lieutenant Benjamin's performance of duty through- 
out that campaign, and in the battles of South Mountain, 
Antietam, and Fredericksburg, won tor him the esteem 
and love of the oldicers and men of the Ninth Army 
Corps." [Comrade Brackett's remarks.] 

This tribute from the pen of one of the volunteer 
officers associated with Benjamin may be linked here 
with the testimony of the historian of the 79th N. Y. 
Volunteers. He says : '' We were joined at this time by 
Battery E. 2d U. S. Artillery, under command of Lieut. 
S. N. Benjamin, a skillful officer and perfect gentle- 
nian, between whom and the Highlanders a mutual admir- 



1/6 FORT SANDERS, 

ation soon sprung up ^ ^ Whenever the Battery was 
short it was to us that Lieut. Benjamin came for help, and 
the boys always considered it an honor to serve under 
his orders. Passing over the faithful and important ser- 
vice of Benjamin's battery in Kentucky and Mississippi 
witli the Ninth Corps, we bring the reader to Tennessee 
aaJ the memorable Siege of Knoxville, where Benjamin, 
now Chief of Artillcr}^ performed his most distinguished 
professional act. 

It was the twelfth day of the siege (Nov. 29, 1863). 
The enemy's infantry under Gen. McLaws liad succeeded 
after a two days' struggle with our dismounted cavalry 
under Gen. Sanders, in finally pressing the Union troops 
back upon the earthworks in front of the city, lience- 
forth to be called Fort Sanders in memory of the gal- 
lant cavalryman who had given his life in order that the 
garrison might prepare for Longstreet's final effort to take 
the city. 

To Benjamin, still a lieutenant, was entrusted the 
honor of crossing swords with the famous Confederate. 

Prudent as he was valiant, our hero neglected no 
requisite precaution. In addition to the usual obsta- 
cles customarily placed in front of a threatened fortifi- 
cation, Benjamin had constructed a wire entanglement 
■ — telegraph wire strung from stump to stump, immedi- 
ately in front of Fort Sanders. The force to man this 
work consisted of detachments from the looth Pa., 79th 
N. Y., and a Michigan regiment — not over 300 men in all, 
including 80 artillerymen. 

From the History of the 79th N. Y. Volunteers (" tb^ 



HIE PATH OF DUTY, 1 77 

Highlanders "), a regiment forming part of Benjamin's 
support, is taken the following : 

'' Lieutenant Benjamin, in the absence of suitable 
hand-grenades, had prepared, some time before this, a 
number of twenty-pounder shells, to be used in case of 
an attack;, the fuses had been cut at twenty seconds, and 
would explode in a moment or two after they reached 
the bottom of the ditch. These shells had been laid in a 
row on the banquette tread at various points on the 
west and north fronts of the fort, ready for instant use. 
We often wished — as they were dangerous neighbors — 
that the *' darned things " were somewhere else. The cot- 
ton bales had been placed on the parapet, about two feet 
from the interior crest, which afforded standing room 
for us to look over the bales ; that was a dangerous out- 
look, however, and we seldom attempted to take obser- 
vations during the day-time. Even on a clear night our 
heads could be seen against the sky, and the enemy's fire 
was frequently drawn. Now we ventured to take fre- 
quent peeps over the bales and through the embrasures, 
but nothing could be seen or heard of the enemy, after 
they had driven in our pickets. 

'' We were obliged to remain in our places under arms 
all night. Ammunition b )xes had been opened, and 
beside our free pouches, each man had as many car- 
tridges piled up on the parapet before him as he would 
be likely to need. All the spare rifles that could be 
found were loaded, and nearly all our pieces were double 
shotted howitzers, In the northwest bastion they were 



1/8 



THE ASSAULT. 



double shotted with grape and canister, while '' number 
four" stood with lanyard in hand ready to fire. ^ ^ ^ 

'' Darkness had given place to the gray dawn, and we 
knew the enemy would not be long in making their 
appearance. ' Now boys ! look sharp ! Do you see them?' 

' Yes, by ! There they come!' Instinctively one of 

our number levels his rifle to fire, but his hand is arrested 
by a comrade who remonstrates, ' You — — fool ! Don't 
draw their fire on us!' 'Now boys, into the fort as fast 
as your legs will carry you! '' De'il tak the hinmost," 
but look out for the wires !' It was a grand rush to the 
southwest angle. K number were tripped up by the 

entanglement. ' Long Andy ' went down. ' D n 

the wires,' he exclaimed, but was up again in an instant. 
A single plank only spanned the ditch, and in the scram- 
ble two or three were thrown over. Just as we were 
crowding the plank, the roar of artillery, volleys of mus- 
ketry and yells of the rebels broke upon our ears from 
the direction of the northwest bastion. Not a shot had 
been fired from the fort until the enemy were within fifty 
yards of the muzzles of our pieces. ' Hurry, boys! To 
your posts!' We were soon there and found our com- 
rades actively engaged in repelling the assault. 

"The attacking party had reached the ditch before we 
gained our positions, and a scene was being enacted diffi- 
cult for pen to describe. The artillery, depressed to the 
lowest point, was hurling double and triple charges of 
canister into the masses of the enemy. Some of our men 
were firing over the cotton bales, and others through the 
embrazures occupied by the artillery ; still others were 



7 HE PATH OF vury. 



179 



pouring- a destructive flank fire from their rifles, and 
entilading- the ditch on both the north and west fronts. 
Both officers and men were shoutin^r and encourasrinp: 
each other. 'Give it to tliem, boys I Remember 
James Island! Remember James Island !' The enem}^ 
finding that the ditch barred tlicir progress, seemed at 
fault. They crowded about the edge, and, hoping to 
escape the murderous fire of our artillery and rifles, 
many jumped into the ditch. Now was Benjamin's 
opportunity, and assisted by Captain Baird, who held a 
burning stick, the twenty pounder shells were ignited and 
rolled down among- the living mass below. As they 
burst, yells, shrieks and groans attested the bloody 
work. Now the enem^^'s fire slackens, and we can see 
that man}- of them arc hurrying to the rear. A cheer 
goes up from our throats, but is instantly answered b}^ a 
chorus of yells from a fresh column of the enemy, who, 
nothing daunted by the repulse of their first line, now 
crowd up to the assault. The wires trip many and break 
their lines ; many fall to rise no more, but the living 
press forward.' 

** General Jones (Confederate Army) says: 'Just 
before the advance the weather had been detestable. 
On the 28th a coid wave swept over the country, and the 
temperature fell below the freezing point. The parapet 
was hard frozen, and a heavy ice crop was formed by the 
moisture from the bank, which prevented the men from 
obtaining a foothold.' 

" Soon after four o'clock McLaws rode along the lines 
giving final instructions and assigning staff officers to 



I go THE REPULSE. 

accompany the different commands. General Jones con- 
tinues: 'When the artiller}^ fire ceased, the sharp- 
shooters opened and the two columns dashed forward to 
the assault. Then the Federal batteries opened and swept 
the ground in front. The abatis did not retard the 
advance an instant ; it was torn up and scattered by the 
living torrent. Many of the men tripped and fell over 
the wire entanglements, which caused some disturbance 
of the front line. They gathered themselves for an 
instant, under a destructive fire, on the brink of a ditch 
from seven to eight feet deep, twelve feet wide and 
surmounted on the further side by a parapet from twelve 
to thirteen feet high, making a distance of about twe::ty 
feet in height to the crest of the parapet.' 

" They sprang into the ditch until it was filled with 
men, swept by a deadly flank fire and triple charges of 
canister, and struggled with all their might to mount the 
parapet. In the absence of scaling ladders, the men 
mounted on the shoulders of their comrades to the top of 
the parapet. 

''General Jones states that a soldier seized a handful 
of wet clay and clapped it on the fuse of a shell that 
Lieutenant Benjamin had rolled over in the ditch, ' in 
the vain hope of extinguishing it, and held it there until 
the shell exploded and tore him to pieces.' Flesh and 
blood could not withstand the tempest of iron and lead 
that swept through the ditch and over the glacis. . 
It was plainly impracticable to enter the fort at that point. 
Those who could fell back, first suddenly and slowly ; 
then the column broke and fell back in confusion. 



THE PATH OT" DUTY. l8l 

Those who could not escape surrendered." 
In a letter written by Benjamin in 1886, he says of the 
assault of Fort Sanders : 

'' The enemy in their charge entered the ditch at once, 
the wire threw down nearly, if not all of the front rank 
and most of the second, but there was such a mass of 
men that it was trodden down at once. 

"The enemy clambered up the parapet steadily, and 
were shot and bayoneted as they got on the top. A 
brigade of five strong regiments were in the first charge, 
and in about six minutes a second brigade of like 
strength arriv^ed with a rush that seemed bound to carry 
all before it. They planted three regimental battle flags 
on the top of our parapet, which we captured. The 
assault lasted some ten to fifteen minutes. It was a close 
affair, for they were Longstrcet's best men, and had been 
put on their mettle to take the fort. 

"I threw shells with lighted fuse into the ditch. The 
ditch was so crowded with men that they could not get 
out of the way of the explosions, and they w^ere mur- 
derous. 

" This raised the cry among them that their own bat- 
teries were firing on them. 

*' I had no scgar. I was smoking a pipe when the 
attack commenced, and sm')ked it during the fight, or 
until the tobacco gave out. Lit the fuse from a brand 
from the fire. 

'' In the actual assault seven men were killed in the fort 
and eight wounded. During the cannonade and the 



jg2 BENJAMIN'S TRIUMPH. 

assault some thirty more were killed and wounded in the 
immediate neighborhood of the fort. 

'' We picked up and gave them 497 dead and badly 
wounded, within seventy yards of the fort, as we did not 
vvish them to come close enough to inspect our works. I 
saw a great many dead and wounded on the ground be- 
yond our line, and think they must have lost 650 or 700, 
besides more than two liundred and fifty prisoners taken 
unhurt." 

The Commanding General reported of this brilliant 
action that, " To Benjamin's Battery, with such portions 
of Buckley's and Roemer's as were with them in the fort, 
the 79th Regiment N. Y. Vols., the 2d Regiment Mich. 
Vols., and a detachment of the 29th Regiment Mass Vols., 
is due the credit of repulsing a picked column of the 
enemy ; killing, wounding and taking prisoners there- 
from, treble their own number, besides capturing three 
stand of colors." 

Comrade Brackett in his address before Lafayette Post, 
frc^m which we have already quoted, says : 

"No military student in the world can afford to pass 
over the lesson to be drawn from the ability Lieutenant 
Benjamin displayed at Fort Sanders ; nor will he, for his 
attention will be riveted by the discrepancy in losses, to 
say nothing of speculation as to consequences, had Long- 
street succeeded. 

" Colonel (then Captain) Baird of the Seventy-ninth 
Highlanders, who held the burning brand for igniting 
the fuses of the shells that played such havoc in the ditch, 
recently said to me that it seemed but yesterday when 



THE PATH OF DUTY, 1 83 

LieutCxnant Benjamin, as he thiew a shell, remarked in 
his quiet way, '' There, I think that will cool them 
down." 

Once more at Spottsylvania in 1864, the gallant young 
artillerist was to make his mark as the Chief of Artillery 
of the Ninth Corps. 

" Only a first lieutenant, yet experienced artiller}^ 
captains waived rank to serve under the accomplished 
officer, and eighty-four guns were ready to respond in 
thundering tones to his orders. From the 6th to the 12th 
of May, inclusive, the loss of our corps figured about 
fifty-five hundred, and among the wounded was our chief 
of artillery. 

" It was during the terrific struggle on the 12th, that the 
enemy's bullet pierced his neck. Riding to that portion 
of the field where he was directing and encouraging, I 
found him unmindful of self, though well aware of the 
dangerous character of his wound. My appeal to seek a 
surgeon was unheeded. A few minutes later I made a 
second appeal, but being again unheeded, and noticing 
that he was somewhat bewildered or growing faint from 
loss of blood, 1 seized the rein of his horse, and guiding 
it to the left and rear, a moment afterward placed him in 
charge of an artilleryman belonging to Twitchell's 7th 
Maine Battery. 

'* Not long since, in this very hall, when questioned by 
some comrades concerning this episode, he replied that 
when I forced him from the field he was unable to see 
where the land and sky came together. It can be truth- 
fully said that though dangerously wounded and aware 



1 84 



THE ROAD TO GLORY 



of the fact, he remained at his post of duty until the crisis 
of that engagement had passed. 

'' The great conflict was well nigh spent before the 
promotion of a single grade came to the subaltern who 
had many times performed the duty of a general officer. 
In July, 1864, he became a Captain, and subsequently 
received the well earned brevets of Major and Lieuten- 
ant Colonel U. S. A , ' for good conduct and gallant ser- 
vices.' Long after the War (1875), Colonel Benjamin 
was made an Assistant Adjutant General in the Regular 
Army. But the reward most highly prized was the Medal 
of Honor which was bestowed upon him for ' particu- 
larly distinguished service,' and as a fitting recognition 
of unblemished professional conduct in which unwavering 
devotion to duty shone out as the guiding star." 





CAPT. T. W. GREIG. 

SIXTY-FIRST N. Y. INFANTRY. 

A HERO OF ANTIETAM. 

LAFAYETTE POST, 140, Department N.Y., Grand 
Army of the Republic, had assembled in its hand- 
some rooms in Union Square, some years after the War, 
to witness the presentation of the bronze medal for valor 
which a great government had awarded to one of its gal- 
lant defenders, Captain Theodore W. Greig, 61 st Regi- 
ment, New York Volunteers, the Adjutant of the Post. 

The Council Chamber was filled with men who " had 
smelt powder;" those who had led and those who had 
followed. By a natural result of the plan of this great 
military fraternity, war-time positions were reversed. 

Among the officers of the Post were men who had 
patiently borne the burden and heat of the day in the 
ranks, with blistered feet and empty stomachs ; these 
now shared conspicuously with their former superiors 

18S 



1 86 A PRESENTATION, 

" the fruits of victory." On one side of the room, stand- 
ing modestly in the background — the rear rank of this 
veteran line now drawn up on parade — might be seen 
the erect form, strongly marked features and white hair 
of that corps commander, who, at Gettysburg, on the 
morning of the first day, did so much to repel the fierce 
Southern onslaught at the Cemetery. Near by stood one 
whose name had but recently been in all men's mouths, 
the soldier of science, the leader in a war with the 
elements, the returned Arctic explorer. With these, side 
by side, were comrades who had achieved civic honors, 
rulers of States, grave judges, successful advocates, great 
bankers, merchant princes, railroad kings ; these had all 
returned for the moment to the memories of the days ol 
*6i, when a knapsack, a canteen and a cartridge-box con- 
stituted their earthly possessions, and when their time 
was divided between fighting and foraging. 

One who has helped in some measure to preserve the 
history of the great American war medal, had been 
selected to hand the decoration to the gallant soldier 
who had won it. Impressed by the peculiar character of 
the assemblage — so eminently expressive of deeds rather 
than ivords — the comrade charged with this duty set 
forth, briefly but earnestly, the purpose of the medal, and 
the distinguished service for which it had been awarded, 
^nd then pinned it to the veteran's breast. 

Captain Greig won his medal at Antietam. He was 
then a Lieutenant, commanding a company in the regi- 
pent already mentioned. His promotion had been 
gracju^l but deserved, frQ^^ the day he enlistee} in the 



A HERO OF ANTIETAM. 187 

city of New York September 9, 1861, as a private sol- 
dier (at the ag-e of eighteen), and afterwards through the 
various non-commissioned grades, until he reached a com- 
mission (July I, 1862). 

Young, ardent, and a stranger to fear ; naturally taking 
to the indescribable fascination of a soldier's life in the 
held ; ambitious to excel in the performance of his duties ; 
it is not strange that Private Greig early attracted the 
attention of his superiors, and falling into the tide of 
promotion which flows so swiftly in War, and so slug- 
gishly in Peace, was ultimately swept onward and 
upward to the single bar of a First Lieutenant, and the 
command due a Captain. 

The morning of the battle of Antietam broke upon 
tw) sleeping hosts, who would fain have taken a later 
breakfast had Mars been propitious. The flower of the 
Confederacy, under their famous chieftain, flushed with a 
second victory on a famous and now historic field, and 
eager for the flesh pots of Pennsylvania, and the loot of 
Philadelphia, confidently girded up their loins to press 
back the blue-coated Yankees. 

The old Army of the Potomac, once more under its 
idolized leader '* Little Mac," his prestige increased by 
brief martyrdom within the defences of the Capital, rose 
calmly as was its wont, and shook itself as some monarch 
of the forest, who, disturbed by intruders, prepares to 
defend his home and family. 

The story of the bloody contest for supremacy which 
followed the rising of the sun on that lovely day in '62, 
js wc'! known to most of those who may see this page and 



1 88 THE GALLANT SIXTY-FIRST. 

is not now repeated. Like two gladiators the grand 
armies rushed at each other, and strove and wrestled and 
fought like devils incarnate in a gigantic *' tug of war." 
Hour after hour passed, and still the victory hung in the 
balance. 

The heaps of the slain grew larger, the little pools of 
blood formed rivulets, and these quickly found their 
several ways to the beautiful stream which separated the 
armies, and grew momentarily more red and swollen. 

It was high noon, and there was a lull in the cannonad- 
ing ; the musketry fire slackened, while the panting 
soldiers replenished their cartridge boxes or moistened 
their lips from hot and dusty canteens, filled with tepid, 
muddy water. 

The gallant Sixty-first New York had been in the 
thickest of the fight as their decimated ranks plainly 
attested. Lieutenant Greig had been foremost in each 
advance of the line, and last to retire from positions no 
longer tenable. 

His blood was at fever heat and he chafed at the tacit 
truce for which exhausted human nature, on both sides, 
seemed responsible. 

Out in front the gray lines extended in vague and 
ghostly semblance, their dingy gray or butternut uni- 
forms blending with the trampled and dust-covered sod 
upon which they were posted. Just in front of the Six- 
ty-first there seemed a speck of color which proved on 
closer view to be a Confederate battle flag. Greig saw 
that it was planted firmly in the earth, as tempting and 
dangerous a sight as any false beacon that ever lured a 



A HERO OF ANTIETAM. 1 89 

ship to destruction. Its bearer, in mocking spirit, had 
placed it a short distance in front of his regiment — the 
Fourth Alabama — feeling sure that with a thousand 
rifles at his back, bearing upon the path by which our 
enemy could reach it, the flag was out of danger. But 
he had *' reckoned without his host." He made no allow- 
ance for the spirit that men call heroism — that counts not 
the cost when lives are to be saved, battles won, or flags 
are to be captured. 

It was the work of an instant — the thought — the deed. 
With a wild rush over the short but deadly zone between 
the lines, the active boy reached the coveted trophy, 
seized the staff, threw it over his shoulder, turned, and 
alm^^t before the astonished Alabamians realized it, 
Grcig was half way back to his starting point. An exult- 
ant cheer went up from the Union lines, and a rapid but 
irregular firing was begun by Greig's friends to 
cover his retreat. But the enemy, wild with chagrin at 
this bold and successful raid by a single Yankee, sent 
after him a perfect shower of leaden rain. The daring 
offijcr had alm.ost reached the cover of the low stone 
fence behind which his men were sheltered, when a bul- 
let found its billet, and stretched him bleeding and insen- 
sible at their feet. The ball had entered the left side of 
his neck, narrowly escaping an artery. When Greig fell, 
he retained a firm hold of his nobly won trophy, so that 
it was with difficulty loosened from his grasp. 

After a long confinement in hospital, during which 
a well earned promotion came to him. Captain Greig 
reioined his regiment at Chancellorsville, and took part 



IQO 



THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOWr 



ill the bloody campaigns which followed — a veritable 
" valley of the shadow of death " through which our 
hero passed unscathed, and with a reputation of which 
grizzled veterans might be proud, was honorably mus- 
tered out of the service of the United States, October 
9th, 1864. 




?^^^^ 




191 



TWO KINDS OF COURAGE, 

WHEN a veteran, whose shield, bent and bruised 
from honorable service, bears mute testimony 
to the scenes of danger and death through which it has 
passed, calmly tells us that he once felt fear in the pres- 
ence of the enemy, we are slow to believe him ; particu- 
larly, if we are not of the Avarrior guild and unfamiliar 
with the various phases of military human nature. To 
such observers, the only type of hero is that which is 
insensible to fear. 

There are men who do not know what it is to be ''ner- 
vous," never have the toothache, sleep soundly through 
the night on tlie '* owl train," and can stand the extremes 
of temperature, hunger and thirst, without more emotion 
than an ox. This is an abnormal state of things, incon- 
sistent with a high order of intelligence or refinement. 
The true, knightly nature, is no more like that of the 
burl}^ animal mentioned, than is the temper of a Damas- 
cus blade that of a butcher's cleaver. 

The subject of this sketch, Joseph H. DeCastro, 
enlisted at the tender age of sixteen years and nioe 
192 



TIVO KINDS OF COi^RAGE. 19^ 

months, on x\ugust 12, 1 861, in Co. 1, 19th Massa. 
chusetts Volunteer Infantry. He served faithfully and 
g-allantly, in the ranks, through the privations and thirty- 
five of the battles of the Army of the Potomac, and was 
honorably mustered out of service July 3, 1865. 

At the Editor's request, DeCastro has furnished the 
following account of some incidents in his career. The 
words and the deeds they describe indicate that this 
soldier possesses both moral and physical courage — a 
combination not always found in brave men. 

" Possessed of a highly sensitive and nervous tempera- 
ment, my emotions when ordered into action, were 
peculiar, to say the least. ' Tlie spirit was willing but 
the flesh was weak.' It required moral determination of 
the most rigid character to set the machinery in motion 
which controlled the forward action of my almost par- 
alyzed limbs. 

*' I was obliged to appeal to every sense of patriotism, 
honor and duty, and without doubt the fear of disgrace, 
coupled with a stray bullet in the rear, were the potent 
factions that decided the contest, so that I was enabled 
to keep ' the touch of elbows ' with my more cour- 
ageous comrades. 

^* Surely, to the average reader, this confession must 
appear strange in connection with the record of a soldier 
who braved the terrible dangers of the 'Seven days'' 
fighting on the Peninsula; volunteered to cross the 
Rappahannock in the pontoon boats, in the face of the 
murderous fire from the Rebel sharpshooters on the 
Fredericksburg shore ; two days later climbed the hill 



194 ''THE THIRD DAVr 

beyond the town, amid such terrific slaughter that the 
ground could only be compared to ' the shambles of the 
butcher ; ' at Gettysburg assisted in rolling back the tide 
of invasion ; and, at last, had the glorious privilege of 
being ' in at the death ' with the immortal Grant at 
Appomattox. 

" Earl}^ on the morning of July 3rd, I rolled out of my 
single blanket, to the music of the birds, and feasted my 
eyes on the beauties of a landscape unsurpassed, in 
my estimation, by any under the wide canop}^ of Heaven. 
Our regiment lay a few yards in the rear of Cushing's 
and Rorty's batteries on the highest point of the Ceme- 
tery Ridge, in a direct line from the famous " clump of 
trees." 

" The boys busied themselves wifh the preparations nec- 
essary in getting up what proved to be a very slim break- 
fast ; as I looked around me and saw the smooth-faced 
chaps all the way from seventeen to twenty-two, with a 
sprinkling of older men, some with bright, cheerful looks, 
others with that grim determined look that tells of stern 
dut}^, iron discipline, and a high resolve to deserve well 
of their country on this or any other field, I could not 
but feel proud that my lot had been cast, in a military 
sense, among those who, from Ball's Bluff to the Peach 
Orchard of yesterday, had shown themselves soldiers 
worthy of undying fame. 

**As the scorching sun rose higher ni the heavens, 
we arranged our pieces of shelter-tents on the gun- 
stacks, to shut out as much as possible his too ardent rays, 



TIVO KINDS OF COURAGE. 1 95 

and stretched ourselves to enjoy as much confort as we 
could under the circumstances. 

*' The combinations and strategy worked out at the 
General Headquarters, is a sealed book to the common 
S(^ldier. He is but a part of the machine, a cog in the 
wheel as it were, of the vast and stupendous power that 
causes him to be m^ved and manipulated like the pieces 
on a chess-board, to work out the designs of the master, 
' Thinking bayonets,* as we were termed. Yet we could 
not think out what that day had in store for us. So the 
long hours until one o'clock were passed, some changing 
while others conversed and speculated regarding the om- 
inous silence in the lines of the enemy. Ten minutes past 
one the boom of a single gun in the direction of the Ceme- 
tery Ridge, its detonation hardly being noticed in our line. 
A moment later the ground shakes and trembles, the 
frightful roar of scores of deep-mouthed cannon, mounted 
on that grim ridge just across the fields of ripened wheat 
in our front, tells the story of the terrible carnage to 
come. The combined roar was deafening; it seemed to 
benumb every sense, and now the deadly missiles seeking 
their range, work havoc in our ranks as we lay as close 
to mother earth as men are ever permitted to get outside 
the grave. A grim veteran of the Crimea on my right, 
shouts in my ear, "This beats the storming of the Redan, 
They are giving it to us with more than a hundred guns.' 
On my left a young lieutenant presses me closely. I 
turn towards him, and at that instant a fragment of shell 
tears through his head, and tlie warm life blood is 
sprinkled in my face. Our batteries are being served 



196 ^'FOR OLD MASSACHUSETfsr 

with a bravery born of desperation. Caisson after 
caisson is blown into the air, piece after piece is dis- 
mounted, and still the hell-born hail cuts and gashes and 
kills. This horrible carnival of death could only be 
htly described by the pen of a Dante. 

'' For two long hours, which seemed an eternity to us, 
this terrific hurricane of shot and shell pounded with 
resistless force, and then a calm. 

'' We breathed again. A moment later a comrade says 
to me, * Look there, Joe !' Away yonder across those 
lovely fields, at the base of that death-dealing ridge, 
from out the woods long lines of the South men were 
passing, marching as if on parade. Slowly, steadily they 
came, ranks well closed up, marching with a sublime 
courage worthy a better cause. They have crossed the 
Emmetsburg road, and re-formed their ranks with the 
utmost precision. 

*' At this moment Gen. Hancock rides up to our regi- 
ment and directs the Colonel to hold us in readiness. 

" The batteries in our front have just opened on those 
magnificent lines of gray, and the carnage in their ranks 
is fearful to contemplate ; it seemed almost like butchery, 
but on they came like a resistless torrent. The first line 
is among our batteries, and we get the word, ' Go in, boys, 
for the honor of old Massachusetts.' I took a firmer hold 
on the staff of the color I carried, and went in with the 
rest pell mell. The fighting was now hand to hand ; we 
were a confused mob that fought in the clumps of trees. 
I saw no less than eight regimental colors in a space 
that could be covered by one small battalion. In the 



TJrO KINDS OF COURAGE. I9; 

imjjctuoiis rush that foHowed, we became a c(3mpact, 
strugg-ling mass, all seeming to be bent on bloody work. 
Blue and Grey were inextricably mixed in all directions. 
I unfortunately became separated from my comrades, and 
while endeavoring to get back 1 had the good fortune to 
get in the hrst blow on a big rebel color-sergeant who 
attempted to down me. I struck him with mv color 
staff, and as he dropped I seized his flag and rushed back 
into our lines, where I soon found my Colonel, to whom 
1 turned over the captured flag." 

The Colonel (A. F. Devereux) writes:''^ "At that 
instant a man broke through my lines and thrust a 
rebel battle flag into ni}^ hands. He never said a word, 
and darted back. It was Corporal Joseph H. DeCastro, 
one of my -color-bearers. He had knocked down a 
color-bearer in the enemy's lines with the staff of the 
jVIassachusetts State colors, seized the falling flag and 
dashed with it to me." 

The method of this exploit deserves a passing com- 
ment. One is at a loss to decide which feature to admire 
the most, — whether the conversion of his own color 
staff into a weapon, the unselfish and soldierh' impulse 
that led him to turn over his trophy to his colonel, or the 
business-like silence in which the transfer was made — 
" He )icvcr said a icord /" 

For " Ca])ture of flag 19th Va." at Gettysburg, Cor- 
poral DeCasti-o received the Medal of Honor at the 
hands of Major General George Meade. 



* " Some account of Pickett's charg^e at Gettysburg-," Mao^azine 0/ 
Am. Histiyrw July, 1887. 




A LINCOLN CAVALRYMAN. 



NOTHING, with regard lo the preparation to "put 
clown " the Great Rebellion, surprises the military 
student of to-day, so much, as the views of the Lincoln 
Administration, in 1861, upon the necessity for cavalry 
as a part of the Union forces. 

This detail of organization, Mr. Lincoln, harassed with 
larger cares, naturally left to his military advisers, Secre- 
tary Cameron and General Scott. The first named 
reflected the opinions, upon merely technical questions, of 
the venerable and distinguished commanding General. 
The latter, having achieved his professional successes, 
to a great extent, by the aid of infantry and artiller}^, 
realizing the expensive character of mounted troops, the 
scarcity in the North of men accustomed to the saddle, 
and, above all, the time required to make efficient cavalry 
from suitable raw material, was loth to sanction the 
acceptance of any mounted regiments in response to the 
first call for volunteers. 

This was made manifest to certain public spirited 
genilemen who, in 1861, tried to overcome the objecticns 
198 



A LINCOLN CAVALRYMAN. 



199 



of the military authorities. Scattered tliroughout the 
Eastern States, at the outbreak of the war, there were a 
few troops of militia cMvahy, more ornamental than use- 
ful ; most of these melted away in the process of the 
formation of infantry regimjiits to go to the front, or 
under the temptation for their mem.bers to become 
quartermasters, commissaries, aides de camp or even 
mounted orderlies. Some, however, preserved their 
independent organization, like the '• Philadelphia City 
Troop ;" while here and there a local taste for horses, and 
the military fever of the hour, took the shape of new 
organizations burning to flash their sabres in the sun of 
another Austerlitz. Anx)ng these was the " Philadelphia 
Light Horse," composed of gallant young men from the 
neighborhood of Germantown, Pa., and commanded by 
William Rotch Wister, a brilliant young lawyer of Phila- 
delphia. About May i, 1861, they went into a camp oi 
instruction at Chestnut Hill, a suburb of the Quaker 
City, and with an ex-dragoon (Mr. J. H. Stevenson) as 
an instructor, being good horsemen to start with, they 
made rapid progress in knowledge of the duties of 
cavalrymen in camp ; information which proved of 
inestimable value to a number of these gentlemen, who 
were subsequently commissioned, and, ultimately, rose to 
high rank. The entire expense of this preparation, of 
course, fell upon the patriotic youths who were burning 
to enter the service of their country — on horseback, if 
possible. 

About this time it was decided that the war was likely 
to last more than three months, and volunteers were 



200 STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE. 

invited to enlist for ''three years or during the war." 
Very reluctantly, it would appear, the government 
decided to have one regiment of volunteer cavalry, and 
Colonel Carl Schurz was authorized to recruit for it 
with the proviso that the recruits must supply horses and 
equipments. He met with some success in New York 
and Philadelphia, with the aid of certain public-spirited 
gentlemen. Suddenlj^ Colonel Schurz was made min- 
ister to Spain, and the budding regiment was headless. 

The struggle for existence is well told by the historian 
of the regiment, from whose admirable chronicle''^' we 
shall make liberal quotations. 

The colonelcy was then offercvl to a regular officer, 
Avho accepted, provided the War Department would 
grant him a " loave of absence " for the purpose. Major 
Stevenson says : 

" Accordingly, hef set out at once, armed with a letter 
from Colonel Schurz to the Hon. Montgomery Blair, 
then Postmaster General. On presenting his credentials, 
Mr. Blair accompanied him to the War Department, and 
introduced him to the Secretar}-, Hon. Simon Cameron. 
Mr. Cameron said he could do nothing in the matter 
without the approbation of the adjutant-general or Gen- 
eral Scott, then commander-in-chief of the United States 
Army. Bailey could not get in to see the Adjutant-Gen- 
eral that day, so he repaired to the headquarters of Gen- 

*" History, First New York (Lincoln) Cavalry." — By J. H.Steven- 
son, Captain and Brevet-Major U. S. V., Harrisburg, 1879. 
t Lieut. Ezra H. Bailey. 



A LINCOLN CAVALRYMAN. 20I 

eral Scott. The general was very busy, so Bailey waited 
till after office hours, and then went to his residence. 
When he attempted to enter, however; he was stopped 
by a sentinel; but tlie general, who happened to be at 
the window, beckoned to the sentry to let him pass. The 
general seemed to be in a bad hum )r ; did not believe in 
granting leave to young officers of the regular army to 
command volunteer regiments, and didn't believe in vol- 
unteer cavalry anyhow ; said it would cost half a million 
of dollar's to mount and equip the regiment, and then it 
would take longer to get them ready for efficient service 
than it would to put down the Rebellion. (!) Bailey was 
much discouraged b\' this opinion, and left the august 
presence with hanging head and drooping spirits. The 
bright visions of a * prancing steed ' and a * vanquished 
foeman ' almost disappeared. The elegant uniform and 
clanging sabre, which always insures the cmiles of the- 
fair sex, where were they ? Bailey strolled moodily 
along for some distance, wHh(.Hit aim or object, until he 
was aroused by the crowd in front of the White Plouse, 
pressing in to see the renowned 'rail-splitter' from Illi- 
nois, then the Nation's honored President. He rallied 
his thoughts and joined the throng, in hopes of having an 
interview with * Uncle Abe,' trusting vaguely that some- 
thing advantageous to his mission would be the result. 

'* He soon found himself in the ' Blue Chamber,' scan- 
ning the person of the President, watching the play of 
his countenance, and listening to the original way in 
which he disposed of many of his visitors ; among whom 
were grave senators, pseudo generals and queer-looking 



202 PRESIDENT LINCOLN, 

aspirants for military honors, contractors and pot-house 
politicians ; all having an ' axe to grind/ By and by the 
President turned towards Bailey, and, with a smile, said : 
' Well, General, what can I do for you ?' Bailey was 
taken by surprise, but, collecting his wits, he smilingly 
replied : ' Not General yet, Mr. President, but hope to be 
if the war lasts long enough.' 

'' Mr. Lincoln seemed to appreciate the ready rejoin- 
der, and said : ' I hope the war will not last long enough 
to make generals of all who aspire to that position.' 
Bailey then informed the President of his mission to 
Washington. Mr. Lincoln said he did not like to inter- 
fere in army matters, unless it was absolutely necessary, 
and recommended Bailey to call upon the Secretary of 
War or General Scott. Bailey informed him that he 
had seen General Scott, but had. met with no encourage- 
ment, and that the Secretary of War would not listen to 
him at all. ' Oh !' said the President, ' it's the old story. 
You tried all other sources first, and then came to me as 
a last resort ?' ' Just so, Mr. President,' said Bailey, laugh- 
ingly, ' and I hope I shall not have come in vain ' The 
President said, with a smile, * I can't see why 3^ou should 
have so much difficulty about getting a colonel. Why, I 
coidd su})ply you with a hundred, from Illinois alone, 
inside of a week. Go back and tell Colonel Schurz to 
hurry up this regiment as soon as possible, and 1 will see 
that it is accepted.' Bailey set out for New York with a 
lighter heart, and, on arriving, reported the result of his 

mission. Captain O was disappointed, and so were 

the officers of the regiment, but recruiting went on, 



A LINCOLN CAVALRYMAN. 203 

'' General Phil. Kearney had lately arrived from 
Europe, and a committee of the officers waited upon him 
to see if they could prevail upon him to become their 
colonel ; but he was in some way pledged to the Gover- 
nor of New Jersey, who shortly afterwards commissioned 
him brigadier-g-eneral. When asked if he knew any one 
whom he could recommend, he named Andrew T. 
McReynolds, who had served with him as a captain of 
dragoons in the war with Mexico, and had been wounded 
there, and breveted major for gallantry. 

** A committee, composed of Colonel McReynolds and 
Captain A. W. Adams, William H. Boyd and Joseph K. 
Stearns, was dispatched to Washington to procure the 
ratification of the above transfer. The Secretary of 
War intimated to the Committee that, as Col. Schurz 
had been provided for, there seemed no reason to organ- 
ize a volunteer cavalry regiment. They then sought 
the President. 

*' Mr. Lincoln examined the papers, and endorsed them 
as follows: 

Hon. Secretary of War : 

Please say to Colonel A. T. McReynolds, that when he will present the 
cavalry regiment according to the within authority, they will be received 
under him as they would have been under Colonel Schurz. 

(Signed) A. Lincoln. 

June I J, 1S61. 

" Mr. Cameron said the committee must get the appro- 
val of General Scott, before the}' could get him to consent 
to the raising of volunteer cavalry. Captain Adams then 



204 NAMING THE REGIMENT. 

set out to find the Commander-in-Chief. That officer 
was very busy, and it was hard to get an interview, but 
Adams had a friend at court, in the person of Schuyler 
Hamilton, who was a member of the General's staff, and 
through his influence the General sent a note of approval 
to the Secretary of War. 

'* This note seemed to take Mr. Cameron by surprise, 
and he very reluctantly endorsed the papers as follows : 

Approved, on condition that the whole of the regiment be at Wash- 
ington, or wherever ordered to be, by the ist day of August next, and 
portions of it before the 15th of July next. 

(Signed) SiMON Cameron. 

June 15, 1 86 1. 

'' He must have thought that these conditions would 
prove the overthrow of the whole scheme, and no doubt 
he laughed in his sleeve as he handed the papers to the 
committee. What a commentary this is upon the his- 
tory of the late civil war, which continued for four long 
years, and in which, from time to time, we had tJircc 
hundred rcgiincfits of volunteer cavalry, and iJirec tJiousajid 
regiments of volunteer infantry. 

'' While at the War office a discussion arose as to what 
name the regiment should be known by, and Colonel 
McReynolds promptly proposed ''THE LINCOLN 
CAVALRY," which was unanimously adf)pted by the 
committee ; all of whom thought the name appropriate, 
because Mr. Lincoln had called the regiment out, notr 
withstanding much opposition from those high in autbor^ 



A LINCOLN CAVALRYMAN. 205 

itv around him. They thought also that the name 
would make the reg-imcnt popular and aid in recruiting. 

" When the President heard what the regiment had 
been named, he inquired wdio had ' christened the baby,' 
and when informed how it came about, he remarked that 
he was ' accused of being its father, and might as well 
own up.' He hoped, however, that the regiment would 
not consider the name as conferring honor upon it, but 
endeav^or, by brave deeds, to confer honor upon the 
name ; adding that he would watch its career with a 
great deal of solicitude." 

" The regiment reported for dut}' to General Franklin 
the day after the battle of Bull Run. Their first colli- 
sion with the enemy occurred during a reconnoissance 
made b)- Capt. Boyd's troop near Pohick Church, Va. 
Although the ' Lincolns ' retained possession ot the 
field, they lost one — Private Jacob Erwin— killed. It is 
claimed that he ' was the first cavalryuiaii killed in 
defense of the Union, and this tJic first cJiargc made by 
volunteer caualry in the war, on the Federal side.' " 

The regiment, although designated the " First N. Y. 
(Lincoln) Cavalry " was not, csj^ecially, representative of 
the I'^mpire State, comprising companies from New York, 
Pennsylvania and Michigan, with a persoiuiel of every 
nationality on the face of the globe, of which perhaps 
fifty per cent, were Americans. 

Passing over the service of this body of horse under 
McClellan on the Peninsula, Milrov in the Shenandoah 
Yalley, and Meade in Pennsylvania, during which it made 
a reputation on both sides of the line for great efficiency 



206 EDWIN F. SAVACOOL. 

in partisan warfare and invaluable service in procuring 
information of the enemy's movements, the Lincoln caval- 
rymen returned to the Valley once more, to become a 
thorn in the side of the Confederacy. Major Stevenson 
says of them in concluding his stirring record : 

^'During their term of service they had marched'thou- 
sands of miles ; had killed and wounded hundreds of the 
enemy ; and had captured about 4,000 prisoners, 3,000 
horses, 400 wagons, 4 cannons, 1,000 muskets, 2,000 
revolvers and 700 sabres." 

Where all were brave it is difficult to pick out one 
deserving especial notice. Yet sucli an one there was, 
and one or two incidents in his career will serve to illus- 
trate the character of the service and the sort of mettle 
required from a *' Lincoln cavalryman." Again we quote 
from the regimental historv : 

'' After being in the ' valley ' awhile, our men became 
so familiar with every road and path that we dispensed 
with the citizens, and organized a band of scouts from 
the men of our regiment. We had a number of brave 
fellows to whom adventure and danger were a pleasant 
excitement, and we soon had a body of the best scouts 
in the army. The principal men among them were Sav- 
ACOOL, Atkins and Vosburg, of Company K; Peavy and 
Valentine, of Company B ; and Forkey, Dunn and the 
Goubleman brothers, of Company D. On one occasion 
a party of these men went clear down to North Carolina- 
The}^ had plenty of Confederate mone}^ which they pro- 
cured from Philadelphia, in sheets, for a trifling sum ; 
the words ' fac sjjniic,' printed at the bottom of each 



A LINCOLN CAVALRYMAN. 207 

note, so that it could easily be cut off. This money was 
pronounced genuine by the cashier of the bank at Win- 
chester, and passed current every wheie in Rebeldom. 
The boys always had plenty of poultry, eggs, butter, 
milk, etc., when on scout, without the trouble of taking 
them. They bouglit them, and were always welcomed 
b)' the inhabitants. 

" On the trip to North Carolina, the boys brought back 
a lot of hue horses and a negro whom they had pur- 
chased from his master for three thousand dollars ' fac 
simile' The poor darkey was ast(Miished when he found 
himself in the camp of the Yankees, a free man. 

*' Savacool went through the valley as a mail carrier, 
collecting letters at all the houses, and much information 
was obtained in this way. On one of his trips he met 
Gilmnr's battalion, and could not hide, so he boldly faced 
the music. He had captured many of these men, and 
was afraid some of them w^ould recognize him. Gilmor 
quizzed him closely, but his suspicions were allaj^ed by 
Savacool taking a letter from his pouch addressed to 
Gilmor himself. It was from a lad}' in Winchester, and 
he was so well pleased with the contents that he gave 
Savacool a pull at his canteen of apple-jack. He then 
informed Sa\acool that they were on their w^ay to burn 
the bridge of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad over 
Back Creek. 

*' Savacool had no sooner got away from them than he 
made a iletour, and i"ode for Martinsburg with all haste 
to inform Colonel McReynolds of what he had heard. 
Captain R. G. Prendergast was immediately sent to 



208 BLACKFORD S CAPTURE. 

Back Creek Valley with one hundred men to look after* 
the bridge-burners. Fifty of the men were from our 
regiment, and fifty from the Twelfth Pennsylvania Cav- 
alry under Captain Henry. 

'' Prendergast, learning that the party were concealed 
in a piece of woods, disposed of his men so as to cut off 
retreat, and then charged into the ambush, capturing 
Captain Blackford and his lieutenant, and thirty men 
with all their arms, besides thirty-six horses with their 
equipments c">mplete. 

'' On our way up the Valle}^ Sergeant Edwin F. 
Savacool of Company K, of our regiment, was in the 
extreme advance, as he usually was, dressed in a full 
suit of Confederate gray, and ' roped in ' several 
prisoners. 

" Between Berry ville and Millwood he found a fine 
horse with full set of military equipments, tied to a fence, 
and his rider up a tree picking persimmons. He hailed 
the 'Johnnv' and told him he had better get down, as 
the Yankees were coming up the road from Berryville. 

" The fellow showed great alacrity in descending from 
the tree, but when he attempted to get his horse, Sava- 
cool pointed his revolver at him and informed him that 
he was a prisoner. * That's bad,' said the Johnny, 
heaving a sigh, and at once handed over his arms and 
accoutrements. Savacool turned his prisoner over to 
the first men who came up, and passed on ahead as 
before. 

'' On arriving at the Shenandoah River, near Front 
Royal, he learned from a negro that young Baylor, of 



A LixcoL.^ Cavalryman. 209 

Mosby's gang, was at his mother's house, on the point of 
land between the forks of the river, which meet at that 
place. It was known as Richards' Farm House, Mrs. 
Baylor having married Mr. Richards. As Savacool 
entered, with C(^cked revolver, the inmates were much 
surprised, as tliey thought he was a Confederate soldier, 
on account of his clothing. 

'' While the old lady was talking to him, her son edged 
up and made a spring for his throat, at the same time 
grasping the pistol with one of his hands. Savacool 
pulled the trigger, causing the hammer to come down 
on Baylor's thumb, and he let go his hold and jumped 
behind his mother. She then begged Savacool not to 
shoot him, which he promised n(3t to do, provided he 
would quietlv surrender. This Baylor agreed to do, and 
Savacool took a seat, pistol in hand, to await the arrival 
of our troops. 

*' The old lady got up on a chair and began to rum- 
mage the shelves of a closet, and Savacool noticed her 
] jutting something behind her as she turned to get down. 
His suspicions were aroused, and he told her to show 
her hands. She did not obey, but kept backing towards 
her son, and Savacool told her to halt or he would blow 
her son's brains out. 

" Slie then burst into tears, and begged him not to kill 
them, as she produced a small revolver from behind her 
back. At that moment we rode up, and Baylor was 
placed under guard ; his mother begging of us to treat 
him kindlv. If I am not mistaken he slipped away from 
the guard that night at Strasburg, and made his escape. 



510 HE KNEW NO FEAR. 

"■ Edwin F. Savacool was, in inao}^ respects, one of 
the best, if not tlie very best soldier in our regiment. If 
any man ever possessed a ' heart that knew no fear,' 
that man was Savacool. His modesty was equal to his 
courage, and it was a long time before his merits were 
properly recognized. 

" He enlisted as a private in the first one hundred 
cavalry that left New York, and was transferred to the 
New York Lincoln Cavalry. He was promoted to a 
lieutenancy, in 1864, for his daring conduct in capturing, 
single-handed, the notorious Blackford, and for other 
daring deeds was soon promoted to a captaincy. He 
brought into camp, in two years and five months, single- 
handed, 72 ])risoners. Within live months he had hve 
horses shot under him. On the day before he was 
wounded the horse, which he rode, received seven balls. 

** Hisservic:^!, and the severe wound he had just received 
won for him a commission ; and the colonel presented 
him with a costly pair of shoulder straps, in the presence 
of General McClellan, at our re-enlistment reception in 
New York, after overwhehning the poor fellow with 
praise, which confused and frightened him more than 
'grimvisaged war' had ever done. 

'* On another occasion, Sergeant Charles N. Warren, of 
Company K, and a man named Hogan, were in advance 
of the advance guard, dressed in Confederate gray. On 
entering Newtown they went into a house and inquired 
if any of their men (meaning Confederates) were in town. 
'What do you belong to?' said the lady of the house. 
*We belong to Gilmor's battalion,' was the reply. She 



A LLXCOLN . CA VALR \ 'MAN. 2 i i 

then informed them that Captain Blaclcford and half a 
dozen of his men were around the corner, in ' Aunt 
Mary's,' getting supper. This was a little inn kept by 
a widow lady, who went by the above name. 

" On hearing this, Warren rode back to meet the 
column, and told Sergeant Savacool, who was that day 
in command of his company, and these two, accompanied 
by several others, set out at a gallop to look after Black- 
ford. (This is the same Blackford who was captured in 
Back Creek Valley with his company, in the previous 
September; but had escaped from Fort McHenr}^ a short 
time afterwards.) 

" The approaching horses were heard by Blackford 
and his men, and they got out of the back door into the 
garden, and hid among the currant bushes. On entering 
the house Savacool inquired where Blackford and his 
men were, and * Aunt Mary ' stoutly denied having seen 
them. 

"Savacool and his men then passed through the house 
into the garden, and began a search. The 'Johnnies' 
were concealed in the farther end ; but fearing discovery, 
they broke cover, jumped over the garden fence, and 
made for the pines. Our men gave chase, firing at them 
and commanding them to surrender. Blackford was on 
top of the fence, and shouted, ' 1 surrender,' and the 
soldiers advanced to take him ; but the moment they 
lowered their pistols he leaped from the fence and ran 
for his life. Warren had captured one of the Johnnies, 
and was taking him back to the house, while Savacool 
pursued Blackford, each firing at the other as rapidly as 



212 BLACKFORD'S DEATH. 

they could. At length Blackford was hit, and then he 
turned on his pursuer like a stag at bay. Savacool 
stopped also, and both took deliberate aim, each at the 
other. Both fired and both fell together. 

"Warren was just returning, after having delivered 
his prisoner, and on reaching Savacool he found he had 
been shot in the thigh, and seriously though not danger- 
ously wounded. Blackford called for help, and Warren 
ran to him and gave him a drink from his canteen ; but 
he was mortally wounded and died in a very few 
minutes. 

" By this time many of our men had reached the scene 
of this fatal duel, and Blackford's body was carried up to 
'Aunt Mary's* and laid upon the table from which he 
had eaten his supper about fifteen minutes before. Such 
is War." 

On the morning of April 6, 1865, Lee's columns were 
discovered at Sailor's Creek, on a road leading directly 
to Burk's Station, on the Danville Railroad, which point 
they still hoped to make ; but the Sixth Corps, under 
General Wright, was ready to dispute the way, and a 
battle was begun by the enemy in order to force a pas- 
sage. 

At this battle Custer's division again covered itself 
with glory. The First New York (Lincoln) Cavalry were 
the first to enter the enemy's lines, and in so doing the 
brave and intrepid Captain Edwin F. Savacool was seri- 
ously wounded at the moment he snatched the first Con- 
federate battle flag from the hands of its bearer. 

Want of space prevents us from dwelling upon this 



A LINCOLN CAVALRYMAN 



213 



soldier's service on this day, for which a Medal of Honor 
was conferred. Suffice it t(^ say that as private, sergeant, 
lieutenant or captain, he had always done his whole 
duty. He was foremost in every action, inspiring his 
men with enthusiasm to follow where it was possible 
for soldiers to go. 

In his simplicity, manliness, and straightforwardness; 
in his discreet but fearless bravery, that won for him the 
admiration even of his enemies; in his large heart, with 
an intense hatred of the Rebellion, vet so full of p-ener- 
ous impulses and fervent love ot countr^^ we recognize 
the character of a true hero and patriot. 







yAe''i> 







:j::^tv^, 




FOILING AN ASSASSIN. 

FAC-SIMILE OF GOLD MEDAL (PAGE 2l8). 



214 




SERGEANT GKuRuK FOSTER ROIUNSON, 

NOW MAJOK AND PAVMASTEK f. S. A. 



FOILING AN ASSASSIN. 



TO the schoolboy of i860, *' the times that tried men's 
souls " meant the days of the American Revolution. 
The schoolboy of to-da}- learns that men's souls and bodies 
were sorely tried in a greater revolution, only twenty years 
ago, when blood was poured out like water to preserve the 
Union. 

The war closed with a traged\\ — the assassination of one 
of the greatest men and wisest rulers the world has ever 
seen. The enquiry into the circumstances of President 
Lincoln's death laid bare a foul conspiracy, which intended 
the destruction of the principal officers of our Government. 
The plot was only successful in one instance. Why it 
failed in another case may here be shown. 

In the year eighteen hundred and sixty-five, there stood 

215 



2 1 6 A FA MO US NEIGHB OR HO OD. 

in the City of Washington, not far from the White House, 
and on the eastern side of Lafayette Square, a plain, red- 
brick house. It had been a fashionable club house, but at 
the time mentioned it was the residence of the Secretary of 
State. The street was bordered by noble old trees, and 
although within a few yards of that famous thoroughfare, 
Pennsylvania Avenue, might almost have been a lane in the 
suburbs of some ancient provincial town, so prim and quiet 
and dull did it seem. Appearances were a trifle misleading 
as to its character. Over the well-swept cobble-stones had 
rolled the carriages of some of the noblest families of Eu- 
rope ; under the grateful shade had sauntered haughty 
dames and gallant cavaliers. Within these precincts there 
had been revelling and feasting and '' flow of soul." But 
these times had fled. War, with wrinkled front, had come 
and changed the sights and sounds. 'The marching regi- 
ment had taken the place of the handsome equipage ; the 
clanking dragoon had succeeded to the languishing beau, 
and the martial notes of " We're coming. Father Abraham, 
a hundred thousand more," had supplanted the softer strains 
of Strauss and Verdi. 

As the war period drew near the end, the little street be- 
came less frequented, and at the time mentioned, was rather 
avoided by vehicles, for the famous dweller in the house 
was very ill ; he had been thrown from his carriage and se- 
riously injured. 

-X- -;f -X- ^ -x- * * * ^:- 

" Swear to be loyal to me, to stick to me through all, and 
I will give you more money than }'ou ever dreamed of ! " 
After a pause came the answer in low but firm tones, *' / 



FOILING AN ASSASSIN. 2 1 J 

swear ! " The speakers were two young men ; the time, 
February, 1865 ; the place, a room in tlie principal hotel of 
Baltimore. One of these men was tall and slender, with 
piercini^ e^^es, and hair of raven hue. His dress was quiet 
in tone, but not in its first youth, and was worn with a care- 
less grace. His movements were quick and nervous, and 
a voice singularly melodious was one of his attractions. 
This man bore a name honored in his profession, albeit his 
place was not among the " stars."- But he was known to 
the public as a bright and promising actor, and to many as a 
genial companion. Who would have thought that here was 
the material for a conspirator — nay, a leader of conspirators ? 
For this man was John Wilkes Booth. 

Strongly in contrast was his companion. Almost gigan- 
tic in stature, broad-shouldered, muscular, he was a mag- 
nificent animal. His low brow% fierce, restless eyes, square, 
massive jaws and deliberate movements, indicated qualities 
Avhich, in the hands of an unscrupulous master, might be po- 
tent for evil. He was dressed in a motley assortment of 
clothes, half militar}', half civil, such as might have been 
selected at random in a cast-off clothing shop. His shoes 
were originally soldier's brogans, now worn to the welt, wdth 
the toes peeping through the uppers. A pair of faded light- 
blue trousers, torn and patched, frayed at the bottoms, and 
liberall}^ bespattered with mud, covered his legs. Around 
his brawn}^ chest was tightly drawn a dark-blue flannel shirt 
without collar, in lieu of which a red bandanna handkerchief 
was loosely knotted about his neck. A jacket of Confeder- 
ate-gray cloth, from which nearly all the buttons had dis- 



2l8 A QUEER CUSTOMER. 

appeared, and a brown hat, completed the costume of 
Booth's singular guest. 

At that time, in Baltimore, it was not unusual to see men 
in such incongruous garb; stragglers or deserters from the 
Confederate army or Southern refugees. It was war time, 
and even the former dandy of his club, when on short leave, 
was glad to get into " cits " of a past date ; so that it was 
not wonderful that this tramp-like person should be per- 
mitted to pass the- portals of a fashionable hotel without 
question, in the company of the well-known actor. 

This " queer customer " was a bit of drift-wood from the 
war waves. He was reared in Florida, upon a small planta- 
tion, and without the advantages of education. At eighteen 
he enlisted in the Confederate army, fought gallantly, it was 
said, and after much wild adventure had left the sinking 
Southern ship and wandered to Baltimore; there, footsore, 
hungry, destitute and utterly friendless, he had stumbled 
across the actor. A long while before, he had once seen 
Booth upon the stage, in the velvet doublet and trunk 
hose of the days of Chivalry, in all the golden radiance of 
the footlights. His imagination had made the play real 
and the players noblemen, in every sense. So, when he met 
his stage-hero in the streets of Baltimore, he ventured to 
accost him. 

A brief conversation impressed Booth with the belief that 
this man could be made a useful instrument in the evil pur- 
pose he had in view. He was right. He had found the 
unfortunate wretch who was soon to be known to the civil- 
ized world by the name of Lewis Payne. 

^ % -X- -x- * -X- -x- -x- f^ 



FOILING AN ASSASSIN. ^ iq 

The fourteenth day of April, eighteen hundred and sixty- 
five, was well-nigh spent. It lacked but three hours of mid- 
night, and the dimly lighted Washington streets were silent 
and almost deserted. It was the moment when theatre- 
goers begin to enjoy the play if it is good, or become bored 
and restless if it is otherwise. To the frequenters of Ford's 
Theatre there was, that evening, all the excitement of a 
" first night." The President and Mrs. Lincoln, with a 
couple of friends, were conspicuous in a box, thoroughly 
enjoying '' Our American Cousin," which, under the au- 
spices of that (long ago) favorite, Laura Keene, had been 
having a successful run. Had none among that gay throng 
any presentiment of calamity.^ 

At that moment, two men were in earnest consultation in 
an obscure drinking-saloon in a side street, near the theatre. 
In one we recognize our dramatic acquaintance; the other 
wears his hat pulled down over his ej^es. On a table before 
them are a couple of glasses, half full of an amber-colored 
liquid. With the exception of the bartender, they are the 
sole occupants of the room. In his nervous way, Booth 
puts his hand on the other's shoulder and whispers, " Re- 
member, try the medicine dodge first ; but see him sure. As 
soon as it is done, meet me at the bridge. Now go ; it 
is nearly time." Both rose to their feet. Booth's compan- 
ion towered above him as they clasped hands — for the last 
time in their lives, although they knew it not. The motion 
threw open the long brown-and-white-check overcoat worn 
by the stranger, and disclosed a belt, buckled tightly about 
his waist, in which was thrust a large knife, and from an 



220 SERGEANT ROBINSON'S OPPORTUNITY. 

Open holster on the other side gleamed the silver-mounted 
handle of a revolver. 

A DESPERATE STRUGGLE. 

Within the domicile of the disabled Cabinet Minister all 
was quiet ; lights were turned low, and those persons not on 
duty prepared for bed. Mr. Frederick Seward (the Assist- 
ant-Secretary of State) was at his writing-table near his 
father's room. Major Augustus Seward was resting, pre- 
paratory to his regular watch, which would commence at 
midnight. 

In the sick-room the curtains were tightly drawn, and the 
shaded lamp cast a soft radiance upon the quaint furniture 
and the snow-white drapery of the couch 'upon which the 
invalid sought in vain the brief oblivion of sleep. The 
soldier-nurse, after a final glance at his charge, sank into 
the depths of an old-fashioned leathern arm-chair, and pick- 
ing up a book was about to open it, when he heard a ring at 
the bell. Sergeant Robinson was not a regular hospital 
nurse, but was himself barely convalescent from a severe 
wound received as a soldier of the Eighth Regiment of 
Maine Volunteer Infantry, at Bermuda Hundreds, Virginia, 
on the 20th of May, 1864. As soon as able, he was given 
light duty, and detailed to take care of Secretary Seward. 

The bell was answered by the colored boy, William. A 
hirge man in a light overcoat and slouch hat strode into the 
hall. He spoke hurriedly and roughly. 

" I want to see Mr. Seward. I have some medicine from 
Dr. Verdi." 



FOILING AN ASSASSIN. 221 

"You can't see the Secretary; nobody 'lowed in his 
room," replied the faithful servant. 

" But I iimst see him, " said the stranger. 
William reflected that perhaps this was a messenger from 
the doctor, who might be allowed to see one of the family, 
to whom he would perhaps deliver his micssage. He moved 
towards the stairs leading to the second floor, closely fol- 
lowed by the stranger, who kept his right hand in his 
pocket. 

'' Don't tread so heavy," 
said William, as the stranger's 
boots came down solidly on 
the polished wood of the stair- 
way. As they reached the 




■%. 



first landing, Frederick Seward 



i:-/' 



came forward. 

" 'Tis a messenger, sir, from 
«4: r^. the doctor. I told him he 

couldn't see the Secretary," 

PAYNE, THE ASSASSIN. . ,,^ ,,. 

said William. 

*' Of course my father can see no one ; he is very ill." 

" I must see him ; the doctor said so," persisted the man. 

'' But I tell you it is impossible," said the Assistant-Secre- 
tar)\ The man turned about as if to go down, and William 
went before him. Suddenl}-, with an exclamation— more 

like the growl of some wild beast— " You !" the 

stranger struck Frederick Seward a terrible blow, which 
felled him to the floor ; again he brought down the butt of 
his pistol on the defenceless head with crushing force. 

At this moment the door of the sick-room opened and 



222 AN UNEQUAL STRUGGLE, 

Sergeant Robinson appeared. Before he could under- 
stand the situation, the assassin rushed at Robinson 
and struck at his throat with a knife. Robinson instinct- 
ively tried to ward off the blow, but received it upon his 
head and was knocked down. Bounding over Robinson, 
the would-be murderer rushed to the bed and befran to 
strike wildly with his knife at the throat of the Secretary. 
Already he had cut the flesh from one cheek to the bone, 
and the blood flowed in torrents over the pillow. Then 
the courage and resolution of his New England forefathers 
came gloriously to the support of our Maine volunteer. 
Although just from the hospital, with his wounded leg not 
yet healed, and enfeebled from his year of suffering, he 
sprang to his feet, and without one moment's hesitation, 
without one moment's thought for himself, save, as he 
afterward sdid, the thought that he must die to save the 
Secretary ; without a weapon of any description, he op- 
posed his naked hands to the armed and desperate ruffian. 
Robinson seized the assassin just as the deadly knife was 
about to be buried in the throat of the Secretary. Then 
commenced an unequal struggle, in which the chances 
seemed entirely in favor of the herculean stranger. Robin- 
son succeeded, at the expense of two deep cuts down his 
back and two more under the left shoulder-blade, in drag- 
ging the villain from the bed, but vainly tried to protect 
himself from blows which were rained upon his head with 
the butt of the pistol. By this time, Major Seward, aroused 
from slumber, ran in and also seized the desperado, and 
although himself cut and bruised, with Robinson's help pre- 
vented another attack upon the Secretary, who lay gasping 



FOIL tiVG A iV ASSASSIN: 223 

and bleeding upon the floor, where he had falleh from his 
bed. 

And now, baffled in his dread purpose, and alarmed for 
his safety, the murderous intruder suddenly threw up his 
hands, exclaimed "I am mad! I am mad!" and rushed 
from the room. As he reached the threshold, he encoun- 
tered a State Department messenger and stabbed him also. 
It was but the work of a moment to throw his knife across 
the street, to jump, hatless, upon a horse standing at the 
door, and disappear in the darkness. William now ap- 
peared with re-enforcements from the military headquarters 
at the corner of the street. It was too late. Payne, — the 
instrument of a stronger mind, the blind tool of a fanatic, 
— had made good his escape. 

A HAPPY OMEN. 

It is unnecessary to dwell upon the events which fol- 
lowed : the excitement in the North over the murder of 
the President ; the pursuit, capture, trial, and conviction of 
the conspirators; and the slow but sure recovery of the 
wounded Secretary and his son. 

The distinguished gallantry and fidelity of Sergeant 
George Foster Robinson were brought to the notice of Con- 
gress, and it was decreed that a gold medal should be struck, 
in commemoration of his exploit, and that in addition the 
sum of five thousand dollars should be presented to. him. 
He was for some time a clerk in the office of the Quarter- 
master-General, at Washington, and in 1879 he was commis- 
sioned Major and Paymaster United States Army. 

The closing scenes of the Great Conspiracy were marked 



224 



A HAPPY OMEN. 



by some curious incidents. One of these, never before 
published, was told to the writer by an eye-witness, and 
seems a fitting conclusion to this story. 

It was late in the afternoon of the day upon which the 
murderer of Lincoln was captured, when an ambulance, 
drawn by four handsome mules, rattled along the road from 
Surrattsville, in Maryland, toward Washington. It con- 
tained Major-General Hancock and several officers of his 
staff. Colonels Tompkins, Morgan, Mitchell, Wilson and 
Parker. In the confusion and terror which filled the minds 
of the friends of the Government, men turned with firm trust 
to Hancock, — next to Grant, — as a strong arm to lean upon ; 
and a sense of relief was felt throughout the land when the 
presence at the Capital of these dauntless, cool-headed 
soldiers became generally known. As the party journeyed 
along, they chatted of the stirring and bloody war scenes 
they had witnessed. The great calamity that had just be- 
fallen the country was, of course, the leading topic, and 
doubt was expressed by one or two as to its effect upon 
the sections so lately estranged. The General, however, 
expressed his firm belief that nothing could prevent the re- 
establishment of " Peace within our borders." " The peo- 
ple have seen enough bloodshed ; they are tired of war and 
seek rest," said he. Just then, Colonel Tompkins, who was 
looking out over the landscape, and at the distant dome of 
the Capitol as it glowed in the warm tints of the setting 
sun, said to his neighbor, '' Parker, do you see anything 
peculiar about the sun ? " 

That officer cast a careless glance in the desired quarter, 



FOILING AI\r ASSASSIN. 



22 tj 



and then quickly called the General's attention to a curious 
sight. 

Within the blood-red disc, now very low on the horizon, 
could be plainly seen, surrounded by a luminous haze, the 
outlines of a pair of clasped hands ! All saw it, and for a 
moment there was an impressive silence. As the phantom 
shape slowly melted away, Hancock said very gravely and 
earnestly, " Gentlemen, that is a happy omen ; it is the 
sign of Friendship. May it come to pass throughout Our 
Country! " 




THE MEDAL OF HONOR. 



220 



PART SECOND. 

1 866-1 886. 

" O the dragoon bold, he scorns all care, 
As he goes around with his uncropped hair % 
He spends no thought on the evil star 
That sent him away to the border war. 

" His form in the saddle he lightly throws, 
And on the moonlight scout he goes, 
And merrily trolls some old-time song 
As over the trail he bounds along. 

" O blithe is the life that a soldier leads 
When a lawless freedom marks his deeds | 
And gay his path o'er the wildwood sod, 
Where a white man's foot hath never trod*' 



227 



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CONFEDERATE (^OLOKS CAPTURED AT SAILOR'S CREEK, VA., APR. 6, 1S65 
WITH PORTRAITS OF THE CAPTORS (CUSTER'S CAVALRY DIVISION). 

(from a tintvpb this size.) 




VT. LIEUT.-COLONEL TOM CUSTER, 

LATE CAl'TAIN 7TH U. S. CAVALRY. 



A BEAU SABREUR.* 



J CAN NOT tell with what gratitude I embrace the op- 
portunity to add my tribute to the valor of one of the 
soldiers this book seeks to commemorate. 

Many a woman adds to the pang of bereavement, the 
sorrow of knowing that the grass has sprung up and faded, 
for over twenty years, on the graves of those who saved to 
us the unity of our beautiful land, and, alas! who now lie 
forgotten. Will not, then, the hearts of many fill with 
thankfulness that the brave deeds of those that are gone 
are here given anew to their Country, and that a monu- 
ment is raised to their " loved and lost " more lasting than 
"storied urn or animated bust?" 

In New Rumley, Ohio, on March 15, 1845, Emanuel and 

* This chapter is from the pen of Mrs. George A. Custer. 

229 



230 ^ BEAU SABREUR. 

Maria Custer received the gift of a son, the third tie that 
bound together still more closely their happy lives. The 
mother said in after years, even when pride for her success- 
ful boys filled her heart, that no time of her existence was 
so happy as when the door of the simple farm-house shut 
in, at dark, the little band about her. The war-drum burst 
in upon this contented home, and scattered her dear ones 
far and near. Her heart had grieved enough over the 
departure of her ambitious eldest, Armstrong,* who had 
implored his parents, four years before, to let him educate 
himself as a soldier. But after he had gone, she huddled 
the little curly-headed fellows that were left, more closely 
about her, and sang still, at her daily toil, for their comfort. 
In 1861 peace departed from the hearth-stone. The two 
striplings began to beg to go to the war. They finally 
agreed to be content if one was permitted. Nevin offered 
himself, but was declined ; although not an invalid, he was 
delicate. Then Tom rushed to get his chance, but the 
father had privately conferred with the local recruiting 
officer, and Tom was refused as under age. At last nothing 
could keep him. He sought another officer and was ac- 
cepted ; at sixteen he kissed the weeping mother and little 
sister Margaret, and was off to the wars as a private soldier. 
It was all the father could do to keep the fourteen-year- 
old boy, Boston, from going. Yet I hardly think the 
parent blamed the sons. He was, from his own boyhood, 
fond of "training-days," and had put his eldest son, Arm- 
strong, into a uniform when he was but a midget of four, 
and chuckled and admired the piping voice of the minia- 

* The late General George Armstrong Custer, U. S. A. 



''OUR TOM." 2-^1 

ture soldier when he called out a line from the schoolboy's 
elocution, that was practised in the home audience — "■ My 
Voice is for War." 

The boy Tom was sent to the Western army, and soon 
selected as orderly for General Negley, When I saw this 
officer, a year ago, he went back over twenty years and told 
me what a splendid soldier he had found our Tom. The 
praise one brave man gives another, irrespective of station, 
shone from his eyes, while he bore testimony in unstinted 
words to the courage and fidelity of the lad. In 1863, my 
husband was made a general officer, and found his oppor- 
tunity not only to send for his old school-mates and offer 
them places on his staff, but he began to plan for his 
brother to be transferred from the West to the Army of 
the Potomac. He obtained foi him a commission as Lieu- 
tenant in the 6th Michigan Cavalry, and not long after our 
marriage, in 1864, Tom found us in Virginia and became our 
boy. The amount of mothering and petty tyranny I exer- 
cised was not in proportion to my years, but he submitted 
to it all as only brave and big-souled men can do when as- 
sured of sincere, disinterested affection. His manners and 
self-culture became a serious study with him. He not only 
aimed to be a perfect soldier, but he was determined to take 
up his studies, interrupted by his early enlistment. Even 
in those busy times he bought himself school-books, and 
pored over them with patience in the evenings. He 
seemed to have come through unscathed by the coarseness 
of his surroundings as an enlisted man ; for though the best 
blood of our land was often in the ranks, there w^as a large 
element of lawlessness, beside, among the soldiers. 



A BEAU SABREUR. 



THE YOUNG AIDE-DE-CAMP. 



As soon as Tom was made aide-de-camp he followed his 
intrepid brother in charges, and was entrusted with the car- 
rying of important despatches and orders, which involved 
caution in traversing the enemy's country, and reliance upon 
his own judgment. He was invariably selected for the 
hardest work. If, after a tumultuous day, the General and 
his staff threw themselves down around the camp-fire to 
sleep and were awakened by the news that required one of 
them to saddle and start off for night duty, Tom was the 
one selected. I never heard that he even looked a mur- 
mur. I only know that I agreed with the staff when they 
used to say, " If any one thinks it is a soft thing to be a 
commanding officer's brother, he misses his guess." If I 
ever attempted to put in a protest for the nineteen-year- 
old boy, my husband argued with me that he must watch 
himself ; that he never made the slightest difference in disci- 
pline because Tom happened to be his brother. If the lad 
came in our room to report officially, the General received 
the Lieutenant in the most formal manner, but the moment 
the business was finished, Tom flung aside his sword and 
the two fell to scuffling, just as they used to in their merry 
boyhood days on the old farm in Ohio. 

Tom said little about his determination to try for medals, 
but he was just as eager for another, as ever, when he had 
taken his first flag at Namozine Church, April 2, 1865. 
Beside this, he was inspired to try again, as he found his 
brother, after whom he had modelled his life, was so proud 
of his achievement. General Custer had taken the first 



AT SAILOR'S CREEK. 233 

Confederate colors of the war while serving as aide-de- 
camp on General McClellan's staff, in 1862. 

General Capehart, who commanded the Third Brigade of 
the Third Division, saw^ Tom take his second flag at Sailor's 
Creek, April 6, 1865. I quote from a recent letter he has 
kindly sent me regarding that day : " I saw^ your brother 
capture his second flag. It was in a charge made by my 
Brigade at Sailor's Creek, Virginia, against General Ewell's 
Corps. Having crossed the line of temporary works on 
the flank of the road, we were confronted by a supporting 
battle-line. It was from the second line that he wrested 
the colors, single-handed, and only a few paces to my right. 
As he approached the colors he received a shot in the face 
which knocked him back on his horse, but in a moment he 
was again upright in his saddle. Reaching out his right 
arm, he grasped the flag while the color-bearer reeled. 
The bullet from Tom's revolver must have pierced him in 
the region of the heart. As he was falling. Captain Custer 
wrenched the standard from his grasp and bore it away in 
triumph. ^For intrepidity I never saw this incident sur- 
passed." 

Major Farnham Lyon, who was a staff officer of General 
Custer's at that time, has written me that he recalls Tom's 
charge over- the rifle pits at Sailor's Creek, and his being 
wounded in the cheek. '' I know I felt at the time," he 
adds, '' that it was a great wonder he escaped w^th his 
life." General Whitaker, General Custer's chief of staff, 
bears testimony in a recent letter that '' Tom, on that day, 
fought like a lion." 



■34 



A BEAU SABREUR, 



A BATTLE-FLAG HARVEST. 



Major Allstrom of the 3d New Jersey Cavalry describes 
to me the melee in which General Custer's Division found 
themselves after the capture of nearly six miles of Con- 
federate trains ; also artillery and thirty-seven battle-flags. 
The confusion was great, and while the firing was still at 
its height, he saw our brother Tom dashing past him, his 
face streaming with blood from the wound he had received. 
The flag he had captured was flying out from the standard 
he still grasped. The Major, terrified at Tom's temerity in 
making himself so prominent an object for the enemy's 
sharpshooters, called out to him, saying, " For God's sake, 
Tom, furl that flag or they'll fire on you." Major Allstrom 
has in his possession a tintype,''^ taken by a camp photog- 
rapher twenty-one years ago, of two rows of ofificers and 
soldiers, holding in their hands the lances bearing the thirty- 
seven battle-flags captured that day. The men are in 
rough campaigning dress, their weather-beaten faces partly 
covered with all sorts of slouched hats, but above their 
brave heads is a line of tattered bunting that had but the 
day before led out the valiant South to the last desperate 
struggle of their waning cause. Major Allstrom stands 
in the front row with his captured colors. On the end 
of the line, our Tom, holding a standard in each hand. 
The thirty-six men were sent up to Washington to present 
in person their flags, and receive the recognition Congress 
made of their valor. I was in the Capitol at the time of 

f This is the original of the engrraving which faces the opening of this chapter. 



"/ 'VE GOT MY FLA Gr 23 C 

their arrival, wearily waiting for the war to close. The 
first knowledge I had that the colors were taken was the 
sight of a street-car filled with soldiers, and with flags 
streaming from every window as the horses were urged 
rapidly to the War Department. The street gamins fol- 
lowing, called out, " Hurrah for Custer's soldiers and their 
flags! " That was enough for me. I instantly joined the 
crowd on the walk and followed. On giving my name at 
Secretary Stanton's door, he admitted me,, and as each 
soldier presented his flag, I was introduced to him as the 
wife of their commander by Senator Harris, of New York. 
It was a very memorable day in my life, as well as in that 
of the dauntless men who had won distinction. 

My husband described to me, as soon as I saw him, 
some of the circumstances of Tom's wound. He was 
deeply moved as he talked. He said his first knowledge 
that his brother was shot was seeing Tom dashing tow- 
ard him, covered with blood. The ball had entered his 
cheek and passed out behind his ear. Only a short time 
before, a favorite color-bearer, whom my husband valued 
very highly, had been wounded in the face, and the 
bullet severed the jugular vein. He reeled in the saddle, 
and was dead almost instantly. The General, seeing Tom 
similarly wounded, was terribly startled, and expected that 
in a moment more the boy would totter in his saddle and 
his life ebb away. As he reached him, Tom called out, 
" Armstrong, the d — d rebels have shot me, but I've got 
my flag," and instantly set spurs to his horse to charge again. 
The General checked him, and told him to go to the rear 
and have his wound dressed. Evidently there was a trem- 



230 



A BEAU SABREUR. 



ble in the elder brother's voice, and the younger was em- 
boldened to disregard the direction. He was so full of 
fight no ordinary request checked him. Then the com- 
manding officer's tone was assumed, and my husband, see- 
ing the necessity of instant obedience, ordered him in arrest 
and to the rear. Poor Tom, hearing the order, which is 
the extreme resort of military discipline, had nothing to do 
but to report to a surgeon. 

We both felt immense pride in his valiant deed, and the 
black patch, planted in the midst of a very new and downy 
beard, was an ornament in our eyes for all the time it 
covered his wound. I remember that my husband was so 
proud of Tom's medals that he showed them to a general 
officer, who was our guest just before the campaign in Da- 
kota, in 1876. The officer was surprised to find Colonel 
Tom had two^ and told my husband, if he had his choice, he 
would rather have a medal for a flag than any brevet that 

" OUR TOM " ON THE FRONTIER. 

In 1866, Colonel Tom received an appointment as lieu- 
tenant to his brother's regiment, the Seventh Regular Cav- 
ahy. He reported for duty at Fort Riley, Kansas, and was 
received into our household as one of our family. From 
that time on, he was in all the campaigns and engagements 
of the regiment. It was an immense change to come down 
from the position of aide-de-camp on the staff of the com- 
mander of a division of thousands of cavalry, to the simple 
humdrum of a lieutenant of a company. It was a great 
test of the true metal of a man to adapt himself to the po- 



ON THE FRONTIER. 2^7 

sition of a subaltern, after the independent and important 
duties with which he had so long been entrusted in the 
exciting scenes of the war. Tom's character bore this test. 
He was as conscientious and simple-hearted in the dis- 
charge of his company duty as if he had never known any 
other than that life. His brother, though never relaxing 
the strictness of discipline, continued to place more and 
more important trusts in Tom's hands, and proved, as years 
advanced, that his judgment and soldierly abilities stood 
uppermost in his mind, even among the tried and true of 
the Seventh Cavalry. In 1874, while the regiment was 
stationed at Fort Lincoln, Dakota, it became necessary to 
attempt the capture of a noted Indian murderer, Rain-in-the- 
Face. Captain Yates and Colonel Tom were selected to go 
to a post below us on the Missouri River, and secure the 
Indian as a prisoner. The story of the capture which fol- 
lows has already been told by me.^ 

" RAIN-IN-THE-FACE " AND HIS REVENGE. 

" In order, then, to deceive as to the purport of their ap- 
pearance at the Agency, the captain in command resorted to 
a ruse. He sent fifty men to the camp, ten miles away, to 
make inquiries for three Indians who had murdered citizens 
on the Red River the year before. Colonel Custer was or- 
dered to take five picked men and go to the trader's store, 
where the Indians resort constantly. This required great 
coolness and extreme patience, for they had to lounge 
about, seemingly indifferent, until they were certain the 

* " Boots and Saddles," by Mrs. Custer. New York . Harper Bros. 



■38 



A BEAU SABKEUR. 



right man was discovered. The cold made the Indians 
draw their blankets around them and over their heads. 
There is never any individuality about their dress, unless 
when arrayed for a council or dance; it was therefore 
almost impossible to tell one from the other. 

" Colonel Tom had to wait for hours, only looking fur- 
tively when the sharp eyes of these wary creatures were off 

guard. At last one of them 
loosened his blanket, and 
with the meagre descrip- 
tion that had been given 
him, Colonel Tom identified 
him as Rain - in - the - Face. 
Coming suddenly from be- 
hind, he threw his arms 
about him, and seized the 
Winchester rifle that the 
savage attempted to cock. 
He was taken entirely by 
surprise. No fear showed 
itself, but from the char- 
acteristically stolid face 
hate and revenge flashed out for an instant. He drew him- 
self up in an independent manner, to show his brother 
warriors that he did not dread death. 

" Among them he had been considered brave beyond pre- 
cedent, because he had dared to enter the Agency store at 
all, and so encounter the risk of arrest. The soldiers tied 
his hands and mounted guard over him. About thirty 
Indians surrounded them instantly, and one old orator com- 




" RAIN-IN-THE-FACE. 



RAIN-IN- THE-FA CE. 



^39 



menced an harangue to the others, inciting them to recap- 
ture their brother. Breathless excitement prevailed. At 
that moment the captain in command appeared in their 
midst. With the same coolness he had shown in the war, 
and during the six years of his Indian campaigns, he spoke 
to them, through an interpreter. With prudence and tact 
he explained to them that they intended to give the prisoner 
exactly the treatment a wdiite man would receive under 
like circumstances ; that nothing w^ould induce them to 
give him up ; and the better plan, to save bloodshed, would 
be. for the chiefs to withdraw and take with them their 
followers. Seeing that they could accomplish nothing by 
intimidation or by superior numbers, they had recourse to 
parley and proposed to compromise. They offered as a 
sacrifice two Indians, of the tribe, in exchange for Rain- 
in-the-Face. 

*'It was generosity like that of Artemus Ward, who of- 
fered his wife's relatives on the altar of his country, for 
they took care not to offer for sacrifice any but Indians of 
low rank. Rain-in-the-Face was a very distinguished warrior 
among them, and belonged to a family of six brothers, one 
of whom. Iron Horse, was very influential. The officers 
prevailed in the end, and the prisoner was taken to the 
cavalry camp. During the time that the Indians were op- 
posing his removal, the troopers had assembled around the 
entrance, ready for any emergency, and prepared to escort 
the murderer away. The Indians instantly vanished ; all 
went quickly and quietly to their camp, ten miles distant. 
Later in the day, a party of fifty mounted w^arriors dashed 
through the Agency to the road beyond, which had to be 



246 A BEAU SABREUR. 

taken by our troopers on the way home. Of course our 
officers expected an attack from that party when they be- 
gan their homeward march ; to their surprise, they were 
unmolested. We learned afterwards that the mounted In- 
dians went to the camp of Two Bears to urge the young 
braves there to combine with them in the recapture of 
Rain-in-the-Face. Two Bears had long been friendly to 
the white man ; he was too old to fight, and prevented 
his young men from joining in the contemplated rescue. 

''After the command had returned, and the officers had 
reported, General Custer sent for Rain-in-the-Face. He 
was tall, straight, and young. His face was quite im- 
perturbable. In a subsequent interview the General 
locked himself in his room with him. Through an in- 
terpreter, and with every clever question and infinite pa- 
tience, he spent hours in trying to induce the Indian 
to acknowledge his crime. The culprit's face finally 
lost its impervious look, and he showed some agitation. 
He gave a brief account of the murder, and the next day 
made a full confession before all the officers. He said 
neither of the white men was armed when attacked. He 
had shot the old man, but he did not die instantly, rid- 
ing a short distance before falling from his horse. He then 
went to him, and with his stone mallet beat out the last 
breath left. Before leaving him he shot his body full of 
arrows. The younger man signalled to them from among 
the bushes, and they knew that the manner in which he 
held up his hand was an overture of peace. When he 
reached him the white man gave him his hat as another 
and further petition for mercy, but he shot him at once, 



A^ INDIAN MUkDEREk. ^^I 

first with his gun and then with arrows. One of the latter 
entering his back, the dying man struggled to pull it 
through. Neither man was scalped, as the elder was bald 
and the younger had closely cropped hair. 

" This cruel story set the blood of the officers flowing 
hotly. They had already heard from one of the white 
scouts a description of P.ain-in-the-Face at a sun-dance, 
when he had betrayed himself as the murderer of the vet- 
erinary surgeon, by describing in triumph his beating 
out the brains of the old man with his mallet. After all 
this, it is not to be wondered at that each officer strode out 
of the room with blazing eyes." 

Two Indians, one of them Iron-Horse, had followed the 
cavalry up from the Agency, and asked to see their comrade. 
The General sent again for Rain-in-the-Face. He came into 
the room with clanking chains and with the guard at his 
heels. He was dressed in mourning. His leggings were 
black, and his sable blanket was belted by a band of white 
beads. One black feather stood erect on his head. Iron- 
Horse supposed that he was to be hung at once, and that 
this would be the final interview. The elder brother, be- 
lieving there was no hope, was very solemn. He removed 
his heavily-beaded and embroidered buffalo robe, and re- 
placed it with the plain one that Rain-in-the-Face wore. 
He exchanged pipes also, giving him his highly orna- 
mented one that he afterwards presented to the General. 
These pipes are valuable, as the material of which the 
bowls are made has to be brought from Kansas. Then, 
finding that there was a prospect of Rain-in-the-Face having 
his trial in Washington, he took off the medal that had 



242 



A BEAU SABREUk. 



been given to his father by a former President, whose like- 
ness was in the medalHon, and placed it over the neck ot 
his brother, that it might be a silent argument in his favor 
when he confronted the *' Great Father." 

After his two. friends had left him, Rain-in-the-Face occu- 
pied part of the guard-house with a citizen, who had been 
caught stealing grain from the store-house. For several 
months they had been chained together, and used to walk 
in front of the little prison for exercise and air. The 
guard-house was a poorly-built, insecure wooden building. 
After a time the sentinels became less vigilant, and the 
citizen, with help from his friends outside, who were work- 
ing the same way, cut a hole in the wall at night and es- 
caped. He broke the chain attaching him to the Indian, 
who was left free to follow. We found afterwards that 
Rain-in-the-Face did not dare to return to the reservation, 
but made his way .to the hostile camp. In the Spring of 
1874 he sent word from there by an Agency Indian that 
he had joined Sitting Bull, and was awaiting his revenge 
for his imprisonment. 

In June, 1876, the Seventh Cavalry, unaware of the fact 
that eleven thousand Indians were encamped on and in 
the vicinity of the Little Big Horn, attacked a village, were 
overpowered with numbers, and Colonel Tom fell beside 
his dearly loved brother. Rain-in-the-Face, who was in the 
fight, sought out our brave brother and wreaked his savage 
vengeance on the dead body of one against whom he had 
so long treasured up an injury. The vengeance of that in- 
carnate fiend was concentrated on the man who had ef- 
fected his capture. It was found on the battlefield that 



A MORTAL ENEMY. 



243 



he had cut out the brave heart of that gallant, loyal 
and lovable man, our brother Tom ! 

So perished a gallant, noble, tender-hearted soldier, — a 
devoted son, a faithful, affectionate brother, a loyal friend. 

I cannot end this account of our chivalrous brother with- 
out the brief testimony my husband gave of his apprecia- 
tion of Tom. Just before the last and fatal campaign, a 
woman friend of ours in the East, said, "Well, General, 
what of Tom ? " 

*' If you want to know what I think of him, all I can say 
is, Tom ought to be the General and I the Captain^ 





244 




RED CLOUD. 



RED CLOUD'S ''BAPTISM OF FIRE." 



WHEN the Emperor of the French, at the opening 
of the war, in 1870, which cost him an empire, dic- 
tated a dramatic despatch containing the words quoted at 
the head of this chapter the cold world laughed in its 
sleeve. 

When the Indian chieftain, " Red Cloud," at the head of 
thousands of brave warriors, flung himself upon a handful 
of white men — outnumbered a hundred to one — and finally 
withdrew, baffled, awe-struck, and bleeding, before the 
deadly volleys from the newly-invented breech-loader, he 
might, truthfully, have said to his people, " We have had 
our baptism of fire ! " 

This affair took place in the Summer of 1867, near Fort 
Phil. Kearney, D. T. It was a modern tournament between 

245 



246 ^^-^ CLOUD'S " BAPTISM OF FlREr 

the representatives of civilization and barbarism — science 
and superstition. 

The leaders were admirable types of their respective races. 

Red Cloud was a Sioux of moderate rank but immod- 
erate ambition. When the Government of the United 
States sought to obtain the consent of the Sioux to run a 
road through their country to Montana, Red Cloud refused 
to sign the treaty, and placing himself at the head of a large 
force of Sioux and Cheyennes, prepared to resist what 
they deerned invasion. Burning with a desire for distinc- 
tion and accessions to his band, he laid in wait near the fort 
already mentioned. 

His opportunity came ; one day, when a little party of 
regular infantry — fifty-one men and two officers — marched 
out from the shelter of Fort Phil. Kearney into the 
country to protect a '' wood party," which, under the 
eye of a contractor, was cutting fuel for the use of the 
garrison. 

The commander of the detachment was Brevet Major 
James Powell, Captain 27th Infantry, an officer of more 
than twenty years' experience, in all grades, from private 
to captain. He was still suffering from the effects of 
wounds received in Georgia during the war, where he had 
won two brevets '* for gallant and meritorious services." 

Powell found that the contractor had two encampments 
of wood-choppers ; one of these was in the centre of a small 
plain, fairly adapted to purposes of defence and for grazing 
the animals; the other, a mile distant, on the other side of 
Little Piney Creek, near the foot of the mountains. Part of 
the soldiers were detailed to protect the working parties 



COLONEL JAMES POWELL. 



247 



and to escort the wood trains on their trips to and from 
the fort. 

Major Powell wisely determined to make the position on 
the plain as strong for defence as possible. 

A number of wagons, sometimes called " Prairie Schoon- 
ers," with high bodies or " beds," liad been sent out to haul 
the wood. For this purpose the running gear alone was 
used. 

The beds became of unexpected importance. They 
were laid on the ground, 
end to end, forming a 
wooden fort, oval in 
shape — thus : r;c At 
the point on each side of 
this little plan there was 
one of the wagons on 
wheels, which contained 
supplies for the use of the 
troops — such as blankets, 
ammunition and tents. 
There were fourteen 
empty wagon-beds, and 
in the wooden sides of each, holes were bored about 
eighteen inches from the bottom, large enough to admit 
the barrel of a rifle. Between the wagons the spaces were 
filled with any loose material likely to stop a bullet, such 
as sacks of forage, ox-bows, chains and short logs. 
THE ATTACK. 

Major Powell, having made his preparations for defence, 
calmly awaited the attack. 
16 




BVT. I.IEUT.-COLONEL JAMES POWELL, 

CAPTAIN U. S. AKMV. 



248 RED-CLOUD'S " BAPTISM OF FIRE:' 

''About nine o'clock in tlie morning of August 2, 1867, 
two hundred Indians attacked the herders in charge of the 
herd, driv^ing them off ; at the same time, five hundred 
attacked the train at the foot of the mountain, driving off 
the men belonging there and burning the wagons."* 

This double attack had the effect to deprive the com- 
manding officer of nearly one-half of his detachment ; these 
men, cut off from the *' corral " of wagon-beds already 
described, made the best of their way back to the fort, 
losing several of their number, killed and wounded. 

At the "corral" Major Powell completed his prepara- 
tions for a desperate stand. On that very ground, but a 
few months before, three officers and seventy-six veteran 
enlisted men had been killed in an hour by the same tribe 
of Indians which now, to the number of three thousand 
braves, hemmed in this little band of twenty-six soldiers 
and four civilians. So confident of success were the In- 
dians that they had brought many of their squaws with 
them to assist in torturing the victims, and to carry off the 
plunder. The soldiers were told off to the wagons, which 
were in most cases covered with blankets, under which the 
men laid flat. At the " wagon-on-wheels " on one side. 
Major Powell made his headquarters, rifle in hand, while 
Lieutenant Jenncss occupied the other. 

Major Powell's parting injunction to his men, before the 
fight opened, was, " Go in there and fight for your lives." 
And well did his men execute the order. 

By this time the surrounding hills were covered with 

* Major Powell's Official Report. 



AN UNSUCCESSFUL CHARGE. 249 

gayly painted savages, who awaited with impatience the 
moment when the white soldiers should be overwhelmed. 
It was not unlike one of the great Roman spectacles of the 
time of Nero, when bands of Christians were given over to 
wild beasts in full view of the people. As the first act of 
the bloody drama, eight hundred savage horsemen charged 
down upon the silent little spot on the plain, as if to ride 
over their prey and crush them to death under the hoofs 
of their ponies. On they clash, with the speed and the 
force of a whirlwind. As they come within a hundred yards 
of the corral a sheet of flame darts out from the wagon 
sides, followed by a roar, which is kept up without cessation 
for several minutes. Like dry leaves before a gust of 
wind the Indians are swept aside to the right and left. 
The front of the legion has gone down in its place — melted 
as snow under the midday sun ; those in rear are rallied 
again and again, under new leaders, with fresh horsemen, 
but although some get within ten feet of the corral they 
fall dead as if by lightning stroke."''' 

None can live in the furnace blast which shrivels up group 
after group of the desperate assailants. Red Cloud, who 
saw this failure from a commanding crest, wondered, and 
secretly chafed at the discomfiture of some of his most 
dashing lieutenants. 

But the success of his whole campaign depended upon 
crushing this puny force — and that speedily. He deter- 
mined to pour his entire band, on foot, down upon the 
corral. 



♦ Major Powell says one ball often penetrated two Indians, 



250 



RED-CLOUD'S ''BAPTISM OF FIRE^ 



Lieutenant Jenness, leaving his wagon for a moment, 
to perform some duty or other, exposed himself to the 
enemy's fire and was instantly killed. The firing had been 
so rapid that the barrels of the rifles became very hot, and 
it was difficult to handle them. The poor shots among 
the soldiers were set to work loading spare guns, and keep- 
ing the marksmen supplied. 

T© make his second attack overwhelming, Red Cloud 
had circled the corral with masses of Indians, preceded by 
a swarm of sharpshooters, creeping forward, dodging be- 
hind every stump or boulder, and hiding in the hollows, 
firing upon the little garrison constantly. The grand charge 
which followed is well described by Colonel Dodge, U. S. A., 
who afterwards had a talk with one of Red Cloud's sub- 
chiefs, who was wounded in the fight. 

*' But now from the hills swarms a semicircle of warriors, 
at least two thousand strong, under the leadership of the 
gallant young nephew of Red Cloud, anxious to signal- 
ize his valor, and to win the right to succeed his uncle 
as sub-chief. When within about five hundred yards, the 
order to charge was given, and the whole line dashed on to 
the corral, to be, when they had almost touched it, hurled 
back in confusion and dismay. Again and again did the 
gallant band rally and charge, only to be again broken, dis- 
comfited and driven back; and it was only after 'three 
continuous hours ' of almost superhuman effort against this 
unseen, intangible foe, that the line became utterly demor- 
alized, and fled in consternation to the hills. 

" When the defeated horde had reached the safety of 
the hills, they were ordered not to fight any more, but to 



COUNTING THE SLAIN. 2U 

recover the bodies of the killed and wounded. A cloud of 
skirmishers were sent out to cover this operation, with 
orders to keep up a continuous fire. All the killed and 
wounded nearest the hills were soon taken to the rear and 
cared for, but to recover those nearer to the corral was ex- 
ceedingly difficult and dangerous. Taking one end of a 
long rope, formed by tying together many lariats, a warrior 
ran out into the open as far as he dared, then throwing 
himself on the ground and covering himself with a shield 
of thick buffalo hide, he crawled to the nearest dead or 
wounded man and fastened the rope around his ankles. 
The men in the woods at the other end of the rope then 
pulled on it, and dragged the man or body to a safe place. 
The rescuing warrior then crawled backward, protected by 
his shield." 

TREMENDOUS SLAUGHTER. 

One of the citizens who fought with Powell was a griz- 
zled old trapper, who had spent his life on the frontier, and 
been in Indian fights without number. Some months after 
the battle, the department commander met and questioned 
him. 

" How many Indians were in the attack? " asked the Gen- 
eral. 

" Wall, Gin'r'l, I can't say for sartin, but I think thur 
wus nigh onto three thousand of 'em." 

** How many were killed and wounded?" 

'* Wall, Gin'r'l, I can't say for sartin, but I think thur wur 
nigh onto two thousand ov 'em hit." 

*' How many did you kill ? " 



252 



RED-CLOUD'S ''BAPTISM OF FIREi 



'' Wall, Gin'r'l, I can't say, but gi'me a dead rest, I kin 
hit a dollar at fifty yards every time, and I fired with a dead 
rest at more'n fifty of thenn varmints inside of fifty yards." 

''For Heaven's sake! how many times did you fire?" 
exclaimed the astonished General. 

" Wall, Gin'r'l, I can't say, but I kept eight guns pretty 
well het up for mor'n three hours." ^' 

Colonel Powell f writes (Sept. 20, 1886): " In one of the 
charges on foot, the Indians came so close that the men, 
not being able to load their pieces fast enough, tJirciv the 
augers (used to bore the loopholes) at the savages, who in 
turn threw them at the soldiers. The tops of the wagon- 
beds were riddled, and after the fight presented a very rag- 
ged appearance, where the enemy's bullets had struck — for- 
tunately, in most cases, above the heads of my men. 

'' I claim the credit of shooting Red Cloud's nephew dur- 
ing the fight, which was over before the troops came from 
the Fort to relieve us. V/e were very glad to see them, 
however, as we were nearly exhausted, having been fighting 
continuously from seven o'clock in the morning until three 
in the afternoon." 

The wounded Sioux chief, in the fall of the same year, 
told Colonel Dodge, U. S. A., that the number of Indians 
in the fight was over three thousand, and that a prominent 
" medicine man " of the Sioux told him that the total loss 
in killed and wounded, of Indians, was eleven Jiunelred and 
thirty-seven ; which would be at the rate of one white man 
to two hundred and sixty-eight Indians ! X 

* " Our Wild Indians," by Col. R. I. Dodge. Hartford : A. D. Worthington & Co. 1882. 

t Major Powell was breveted Lieut. -Colonel U. S. A. for this fight.— [Editor.] 

I The troops lost one officer, and two privates killed, and two private soldiers wounded, 



THE MEDICINE FIGHT. 



•53 



The Indians on the. Plains, to this day, speak of this con- 
flict as something mysterious and awful, and although they 
have since learned to use breech-loading arms as skilfully as 
white men, yet the Sioux and Cheyennes always speak of 
the fight as the Medicine Fight, where the '* Bad God" 
fought against them. 





A FRIEND INDEED. 



^54 




CAPTAIN CHARLES KING, 

UNITED STATES ARMY. 



TRAILING THE APACHES. 

I. "A FRIEND INDEED." 

SCARCELY any savages have more thoroughly resisted 
every effort to civiHze them than the Apaches. These 
Indians accept, rather sullenly, the beef and bread which 
Uncle Sam periodically issues to them ; but when the first 
green blade shows itself above the ground, the Apache paints 
his face, leaves his tall hat and " store clothes " with his dusky 
housekeeper, mounts one of his numerous ponies and sal- 
lies forth. He carries the latest thing in breech-loaders, the 
newest patent in cartridge belts, filled with bright copper 
cartridges, and a pass from the agent certifying that " the 
bearer, Victorio, is a good Indian." He proceeds leisurely 
through the country, with a few boon companions, killing, 
burning, and laying waste. They are pursued, but so famil 

255 



256 



TRAILING THE APACHMS. 



iar are they with the mountains that it is a long chase and 
a stern chase, indeed, before the last marauder is caught ; 
and many a gallant soldier loses his life in the vain effort 
to perform with one horse what the Indian does not at- 
tempt without three of the toughest beasts known, or if 
necessary does easily on foot. The latest instance of this 
kind is the chase of old Geronimo's band in Arizona by that 
gallant and lamented officer. Captain Crawford, of the Army. 

By the fall of 1874, the Apache War in Arizona had 
dwindled to small proportions. For nearly three years 
General Crook had kept the entire Fifth Cavalry in scattered 
detachments, scouting through the mountains and tracking 
the renegades to their lairs. Fghting had been incessant, 
the regiment had lost many a valuable officer and man, but 
not a single fight, and when the summer of '74 was ushered 
in, nearly all the once savage and hostile Apaches were hud- 
dled together ; some on a reservation far up in the Verde 
Valley, while others were similarly guarded at San Carlos, 
two hundred miles by the mountain trails to the south-east. 
The little garrison of Camp Verde consisted of two troops 
of the Fifth Cavalry, '* A " and " K," and two companies of 
the Eighth Infantry, all under command of a veteran sol- 
dier, Brevet Colonel J. W. Mason, Fifth Cavalry. Some 
of the cavalry were still out on the inevitable scout in the 
mountains, to the south-east, but all seemed peaceful around 
the post. 

Lieutenant King, of the Fifth Cavalry, was at work mak- 
ing a survey of the military reservation, and was riding 
along with his little party of rod-and-chain men one Octo- 
ber afternoon, when they were startled by the appear. 



THE ALARM. 



2^; 



ance of some herders coming toward them at full gallop 
from the foot-hills. They brought the news that instead of 
being all driven off to the south-east or into the Agency, 
as was supposed, there was now a band of Apaches raiding 
through the valley, far above them, and upon the very bor- 
ders of the reservation. Taking two of the herdsmen with 
him, Lieutenant King rode back to the post, where Colonel 
Mason was speedily informed of the news. The first thing 




necessary was to communicate with the commanding officer 
at the Apache reservation, whose station was twenty miles 
up the valley, and the Colonel directed Mr. King to take a 
fresh horse, gallop to the Agency, confer with this officer, 
who was also acting as Indian Agent, and get twenty 
Apache scouts to accompany the troops, which the Colonel 
purposed sending out that very night. Long before sun- 
set, therefore, the Lieutenant was reining in his panting 
horse before the shelter of the spreading canvas under 
which his regimental comrade. Lieutenant Schuyler, was 



258 Tk AILING THE APACHES. 

busily at work writing down the statements of some 
of his own '' reservation poHce," who had come in to 
report that they, too, had found the trail of the raiding 
band, who had driven off some fifty head of cattle 
through the Red Rock country to the north-east. 
Though some years his junior, Lieutenant Schuyler had 
seen much more service against the Apaches than his friend 
and ''statesman," King (they were both New Yorkers), 
for the latter had been on other duty until the preceding 
winter, and Schuyler had been selected to command this 
big reservation because of his long experience among, and 
intimate knowledge of, the Apaches. Both of them had 
been in the field commanding scouting parties all that 
Spring, however, and had been usually successful in find- 
ing the Indians for whom they were in chase. They were 
warm personal friends and generous rivals. Here was 
another opportunity for sharp, soldierly work, a chase, a 
battle, the recapture of the stolen cattle and the thrashing 
of the Indian marauders. General Crook was quick to 
appreciate and reward zeal and dash in his young officers, 
and both King and Schuyler had already been named by 
him to the President for " brevets " for gallant conduct in 
these conflicts in the Arizona mountains. Neither of them 
would stand in the other's way, yet each was eager for the 
command of the force to be sent, as orders were given in 
those days "to pursue and punish " the Indians in the case. 
The moment Schuyler caught sight of King, he knew that 
the story of the raid had already reached Camp Verde, 
and that it was to be King's " benefit," not his. All the 
same, he gave his comrade every assistance, pointing out to 



PkEPARlJVG TO MOVE. 



259 



him that so far from being a day old, as the herders had re- 
ported, it must have been three days since the stock was 
run off, and the Apaches were by this time well up tow- 
ards Snow Lake on the ''divide" of the Mogollon. King 
asked for some of the scouts he had had with him in May 
and June, but, as bad luck would have it, they were all out 
with other commands, down toward the Tonto Basin to 
the south-east. Schuyler had nothing to give him but 
some Apache-Yumas, whom King had never seen, and even 
they were out somewhere on the reservation, and would 
have to be hunted up. At sunset, therefore, King re- 
mounted, and with a parting shake of the hand and "■ Good 
luck to you. Old Man," from his brother lieutenant, hurried 
back to Verde, pondering over in his mind all that Schuyler 
had told him about the probable course taken by the In- 
dians, and the best way to nab them. 

PREPARING FOR THE SCOUT. 

Reaching Verde he found that orders were already issued 
by Colonel Mason. Lieutenants King and Eaton, Fifth 
Cavalry, with twenty men of troops " K " and *' A," and 
a like number of Indian scouts were directed to push out 
at dawn, go north-eastward, find the trail, ** pursue and 
punish the Indians." King had a few moments' chat with 
his colonel over what Schuyler had told him, and then went 
off to see the veteran packer, Harry Hawes, who was to go 
with the mule train. It was estimated they might be gone 
ten or twelve days, and already the men were drawing from 
the commissary store-house their supplies of bacon, flour, 
coffee, sugar and " hard-tack," while from the ordnance of< 



26o TRAILING THE APACHES. 

fice were lifted out two solid, heavy little boxes, painted a 
dark olive green and labelled, '' looo Rounds — Springfield 
Carbine Ball Cartridge — Calibre 45." There was no telling 
how much of that sort of thing they would need in addition 
to the supply each officer and man carried on his person in 
the handy ''.thimble belt." Lieutenant Eaton was quarter- 
master of the post at the time, and ordinarily would not be 
detailed for such duty as scouting, but here was a chance 
of finding the Indians close at hand, and having the fight 
over and done with in less than a week, so he wanted to go, 
and received the Colonel's permission. 

Busily at work among the soldiers was an Irish sergeant, 
between whom and the cavalry officers, and even men, there 
was a deep respect and esteem. He bore the name of 
Bernard Taylor, was called "Barney" by the troopers 
when off duty, but respectfully addressed as *' Sergea>nt " at 
all other times. Both King and Eaton knew him well. He 
had been in many a scout and skirmish with the regiment, 
and was hailed as a daring, resolute, intelligent man, and a 
non-commissioned officer of high merit. He had not waited 
for Lieutenant King's return from his forty-mile ride, but 
had everything in readiness to report to him on his arrival. 
The horses had been carefully inspected, and both they and 
the mules were re-shod where the shoes were worn to any 
extent. This is an imperative precaution over the Arizona 
mountain trails — there is no rougher country in the world. 
By ten P.M. everything was ready but the scouts. They 
had not appeared, and as the lieutenant knew he would 
have no great difficulty in overtaking the Indians during 
the week, burdened as they were by slow-moving cattle and 



Sl/SPlCIOUS ALLIES. 26 1 

compelled to follow the beaten trails, he was well content 
with the Colonel's orders to let the men have a few hours' 
sleep before starting. It was his purpose to push up 
Beaver Creek in the dark, and scale the mountains from its 
head-waters, hiding in the canons by day and continuing on 
the chase at night, so that his coming would be unperceived 
even by the wariest of Apache eyes. Late at night the 
Apache-Yumas came riding down from the reservation, and 
reported to Lieutenant King at his quarters. He and Eaton 
looked them over by lantern light and shook their heads. 
'' No good," said Eaton. There were fifteen of them, under 
the leadership of a couple of petty chiefs. An interpreter 
came who said that Lieutenant Schuyler wanted the horses 
returned at once. They had only been lent to hurry them 
down. No mountain Apaches ever did their scouting ex- 
cept on foot, and the first thing these fellows did was to de- 
mand that the horses be kept for their benefit. Being re- 
fused, they began to grumble and then to demand supper, 
and w^ere finally marched off to the command in a sullen 
mood. 

"■ I'll bet a hat," said Sergeant Taylor, as he watched 
them talking in low tones among themselves, '' those beg- 
gars know just who the renegades are and don't want to go 
and help find them." 

At the first gray of dawn the little command was ready 
to start. 

FRONTIER UNIFORM. 

Let us inspect these frontier soldiers. We look in vain, 
with our civilized eyes, tor the ** pomp and circumstance" 



262 TRAILING THE APACHES, 

which one associates with a "regular" in the East — at 
Washington or New York. Where are the plumes and 
pipe-clay? where the dazzling brasses and the faultless cut 
of the company tailor? A search in the men's lockers 
would doubtless reveal them, snugly packed away for the 
next garrison duty. But here another garb, a combination 
of experience and the old-clothes' bag, is the correct thing. 
We may perhaps except the detachment commander. His 
clothes are not shabby ; and he can't help being neat, even 
when on a "scout." From the top of his low-crowned, 
feather-weight, drab, felt hat to the dark-blue flannel shirt, 
fastened at the neck with a knotted silk handkerchief, and 
the small soft gauntlet which he twirls restlessly in one 
hand, the artist as well as the campaigner stands out ; he of 
all the party wears closely-fitting cavalry breeches, boots, 
spurs, and a cartridge-belt well filled ; an " officer's rifle " 
completes a picturesque and useful outfit. 

Standing by his horse, a little apart from the men, is 
an admirable specimen of the Irish-American soldier. Of 
medium stature, very powerfully built, with a frank, bronzed 
face, bright blue eyes and close-cut auburn hair and mus- 
tache (marked in the descriptive list as "sandy "), Sergeant 
Bernard Taylor of the Fifth Horse would at a glance be 
picked out as one of the best men in the party. His cos- 
tume, although hardly as natty as that of his superior, is 
not less adapted to the nature of the service. A gray felt 
sombrero, with upturned brim, is clapped well down on his 
head, with a gentle inclination over the right eyebrow ; a 
faded lead-colored flannel shirt, open at the neck, gives a 
glimpse of a red undershirt ; a plains-man's home-made 



SERGEANT TAYLOR'S OUTFIT. 263 

cartridge-belt, bristling with metallic ammunition, encircles 
his waist, with a revolver on one side, balanced on the 
other by a keen-bladed hunting-knife ; buckskin breeches, 
and well-greased cowhide boots, with huge rowelled Mexi- 
can spurs, make up the Sergeant's equipment. The short- 
limbed, compactly-built, California horse, standing quietly 
at his elbow, looks fit for any emergency, and has more than 
once shown a clean pair of heels to the enemy, when discre- 
tion on his rider's part has been the better part of valor; 
the McClellan saddle, stripped of every ounce of unneces- 
sary leather, and planted well forward on the neatly folded 
blanket, the snug sack of barley, like a small section of 
stove-pipe resting behind the cantle of the saddle, the 
extra girth, — all these are signs that mean business. 

The rest are more or less similarly accoutred. Hardly a 
forage cap, not a sabre, nor a letter or number to tell to 
what particular regiment of Uncle Sam's retainers these 
bandit-like horsemen belong. 

Fording the Verde, they pushed rapidly up the valley 
of Beaver Creek, and at night were dragging their horses 
after them in a tough foot-climb up the jagged steeps of 
the Mogollon. Long before midnight the Indians, who 
ought to have served as guides, had dropped hopelessly 
behind. "Tired out," they said, and yet, wdien they want 
to, any one of them can out-last the stoutest mountaineer 
on a tramp. King, Eaton and Sergeant Taylor led the 
way up the heights or down through the dark ravines, 
guided only by the stars, and when dawn of the second 
day arrived they halted, tired and foot-sore, far up in 
the range, and, they believed, undetected. 



264 TRAILING THE APACHES. 

One thing had occurred to confirm the suspicions of 
Sergeant Taylor. Climbing up out of a deep gorge they 
came, just before daybreak, to a point from which they 
could see the range, far away northward, and there, stand-, 
ing boldly out among the eastern cliffs of the reservation, 
casting its glare mile:5 to the eastward, but hidden from the 
west, was a huge signal fire, a warning to the enemy that 
the soldiers were coming. King sent back to the rear for 
his scouts and silently pointed to the distant blaze as they 
were finally huddled before him. One and all they denied 
all knowledge of it, but declared they could not keep up — 
'' Soldiers go too fast." Warned that the first one caught 
at anything that might betray the presence of the com- 
mand would be summarily shot, they were herded down to 
the next ravine, where the day was spent in resting in con- 
cealment. 

The next night the command marched rapidly through 
a wild and beautiful table-land, far up in the mountains, 
among pine, juniper and scrub oak. Here nothing could 
keep the Indians along with the column. Two of them 
swore they were sick, and both the officers felt certain that 
they knew the troops were rapidly nearing the position of 
the " hostiles," and dared not be with them. One of them 
was so cold and abject an object that the Lieutenant or- 
dered him to mount a spare mule. He did so, fell asleep, 
rolled off and nearly cracked his skull. Eaton picked him 
up, unconscious, and plastered the crack as well as he could 
by starlight, and then, leaving the Indian in charge of two 
of his demoralized comrades, the little column pushed 
ahead. When they reached the banks of Snow Lake, far 



A HOT TRAIL, 26^ 

up on the plateau, only nine of the scouts were left. Two 
had deserted and gone no one knew w^hither. 

The actions of the entire gang were so unlike those of 
all the other scouts with whom the two officers had dealt 
in the past that they became" thoroughly distrustful of 
them. They kept protesting to Lieutenant King that no 
Apaches could be in the vicinity, but their very volubility 
convinced him they were lying, and excited his wrath. It 
had grown sharply cold so far up among the mountains, that 
the water froze in the canteens at night, and the Indians 
complained bitterly of the hardships. But on the dawn 
of October 31, King and Sergeant Taylor, scouting out 
in front, came upon recent Apache signs in the sand of a 
little gully ; more than that, they were soon on the track of 
the captured cattle. That very evening, down in a broad 
depression, they came in sight of the chase, and, leaving 
their skulking allies to look out for themselves, the little 
troop rode headlong down the slopes, and while some 
"rounded up" the frightened cattle, King, Eaton and 
most of the men rushed on in pursuit of the Apaches, who 
had scattered into the hills. Darkness put an end to that, 
however, and they had to wait until the scouts came up. 

Leaving a guard with the cattle. King and his men 
again set forth about nine P.M., and found themselves, 
about one in the morning, in the defile known as Sunset 
Pass, where they bivouacked for the night. Their orders 
were to " pursue and punish." They had pursued, but up 
to this moment had inflicted no punishment. Both officers 
were confident that they would find the Apaches lurking 
in the mountains north or south of the Pass, and were de- 



266 TRAILING THE APACHES. 

termined to have it out with them ; but the scouts pro- 
tested that as soon as it was dark the Tontos must have 
doubled on their track and gone back towards Snow Lake. 
At dawn, King ordered them out to search the neighbor- 
hood for signs. They were in a rocky ravine, through 
which there trickled a tiny stream that formed little pools 
here and there, from which they watered their horses. 
South rose a rugged mountain, covered with tangled shrub- 
bery and bould-Tsrs. Northward lay another, and between 
them curled and twisted the old trail leading to the Sunset 
Crossing of the Colorado Chiquito, twenty miles away. 
The Indians sullenly obeyed, but huddled nervelessly to- 
gether, making only faint pretence of search, and inces- 
santly protesting, " No Tonto here." 

'* THICK AS LEAVES." 

Suddenly there came a shout from down the ravine. 
Some of the men, in hunting about, had come finally on 
a pool with sandy shores, and there, thick as leaves, 
were the fresh prints of Tonto moccasons. The scouts 
were fairly driven to the spot by the ofificers, and con- 
fronted with the evidences of their worthlessness. Then 
came the hurried consultations. It was evjdent that after 
filling their water-vessels the Tontos had taken to the 
mountains, south of the Pass, and King determined to fol- 
low at once. Eaton, with the main body, was ordered to 
remain a short distance in rear, while the commander, with 
Sergeant Taylor, should force the scouts ahead and find 
the trail up the rocky slopes. White men could not do it 
unaided, and there were a dozen ways in which the Indians 



''HEAP TON TO SIGNr 26/ 

might have gone. Damning them for their cowardice and 
treachery, King warned the scouts that they might expect a 
shot from either himself or Taylor if they lied again, or- 
dered them out in dispersed line across the slope, and tlien, 
pointing upward, gave the word *' Ugashe " (go ahead), 
and he and Taylor followed at their heels. 

The ardent officer soon found himself and the Sergeant 
far in advance of the more slowly moving detachment. In 
a few minutes both stood upon a great flat rock, jutting 
out from the precipice, and covered with huge boulders, 
relics of some early upheaval ; above them, the great cliff 
reared its forbidding front, black and seamed with the 
storms of ages ; below, the mountain side fell away in 
mingled forest and ravine and rushing torrent. 

Looking around for some outlet to the spot, for he was 
convinced the hostiles were lurking near, the Lieutenant 
sent the Sergeant in one direction, while he cautiously glided 
into the underbrush in an attempt to flank the position. A 
moment later something whizzed by his head and buried 
itself deep in a tree. He had found the hornet's nest ! In 
another moment he felt a sharp burning sensation as an- 
other dart, better aimed, cut through the muscles at the 
outer corner of his left eye and flew down toward the cow- 
ardly scouts, who, at the sound of the first arrow, had taken 
to their heels. 

A hornet's nest. 

To jump behind a convenient rock was but the work of a 
moment for the bleedin-g but not fatally injured officer. 
With carbine at " ready," he eagerly watched for the game, 



268 TRAILING THE APACHES. 

He had not long to wait. Another arrow sped by his head 
from the left, and like lightning his rifle was at his shoulder; 
a sharp report followed, and one of two dark forms crouch- 
ing in his front dropped out of sight. Ere he could reload, 
a volley came from the same direction, his carbine dropped 
from his hand, and his right arm, pierced by a bullet, hung 
nerveless by his side, while down the wounded limb the 
warm life-blood poured. 

In such situations men must think quickly. He must 
run for it. Could he hold out until he reached his men, 
whom he knew were even then springing forward to his 
relief? All this passed through the gallant fellow's mind 
in a second. In another he was springing down the side of 
the hill with the yelling red devils after him, but moving 
more slowly, as they did not expect any friends in that 
direction. 

The breathless and fast weakening soldier hardly needs the 
obstruction of a tough, clinging vine to send him headlong 
eight or ten feet down, where, bruised and nearly senseless, 
he lies. But one thought is uppermost. They shall not 
take him alive without another shot. He fumbles for his 
revolver and — vvhat is that ? Upon his ear comes a familiar 
sound. It is tlie Sergeant calling his name. " Lieutenant ! 
Lie II tenant ! ivJiere are ye ? " 

" Here ! Sergeant," faintly replies the wounded man. 

The Sergeant took in the situation at a glance. In a mo- 
ment he had picked up his officer (who held on with one arm 
round the soldier's neck) and was getting over the ground 
in true mountaineer fashion. 

When King fell, the Apaches for a few moments lost his 



SA VING HIS OFFICER 'S LIFE. 



269 



trail, but now they came tearing after the fugitives. Every 
few yards Sergeant Taylor would stop and send a reminder 
from his carbine that his arms w^ere all right, and twice a 
Tonto measured his length on the rocks. But the gallant 
Irishman was getting winded, and King, fearing that both 
would lose their lives, urged, implored, ORDERED his com- 
panion to leave him and save himself. 

But the Sergeant w^as not that sort of man ! To leave 
any white human being — much less the officer whom he 
loved and respected — to the mercy of those howling fiends 
was not to be thought of for an instant. He knew w^hat 
that meant, — death by torture, with which the cruelties of 
the Spanish Ii\quisition pale by contrast. .The shots now 
came more frequently, they came closer, and arrows mingled 
with the leaden shower. 

At last, just as Sergeant Taylor's strength has nearly 
given out with the weight and the pace, sounds of crashing 
bushes and excited voices are heard, and — 

" Here come the boys, sir ! " is the welcome shout which 
rings in the Lieutenant's ear as he loses consciousness. 

In a quarter of an hour the affair is over. Several of the 
Apaches have gone to the happy hunting-grounds of their 
people, and the command is resting in a picturesque nook. 
Lieutenant King's wound is not beyond the rough surgery 
of old campaigners, of whom there are not a few in the 
command. Fortunately, the ball had avoided the arteries 
and the bones. Cold-water applications, careful bandaging, 
some strong coffee, and as soft a bed of blankets as could 
be made, went far towards bracing the disabled cavalryman 
[or the ride back to his post. And although suffering 



:;o 



TRAILING THE APACHES, 



much, the first thing he did upon his arrival was to dictate 
an official report, in which Sergeant Taylor's conduct came 
in for conspicuous mention and recommendation to the 
military authorities. None realized better than the Lieu- 
tenant that, but for Taylor's pluck and perseverance, to 
some other pen would have fallen this professional duty. 

It was for this act of daring and devotion that Sergeant 
Bernard Taylor was named for and awarded the Medal 




of Honor, and in the skirmish up the height Corporal 
Bryan Smith and Private Frank Biffar were named for 
conspicuous conduct. 

Taylor was a typical Irishman, brave, intelligent, full ot 
high spirit and pride in his regiment. 

He was a fine ri»der, a quick shot, a gallant and enthusias- 
tic trooper, a\.d never more thoroughly in his element than 
in the rough mountain scouting, in which the Fifth spent 
so many stirring years. Poor fellow ! he lived only a few 



DECORATED AND DESERVJuVa. 



271 



brief months, and died at Verde, just before the regiment 
started on its homeward march. 




SERGEANT JOHN NIHILL, 

FIFTH U. S. ARTILLERY. 



II. THREE TO ONE. 



Frequently the force sent after the hostile Indians is 
small, but that it gains in quality what it lacks in quantity 
appears from the story of Private JOHN NiHiLL, ''F," 5th 
U. S. Cavalry, a soldier who won a Medal of Honor for his 
good conduct in the Wl'ietstone Mountains, Arizona, July 
13, 1872, and upon other occasions. 

He has since become a sergeant in Battery '* B," 5th U. 







272 



S£:/^g£:ajV7' Avn/ll 's ad fenture. 273 

S. Artillery, and at the Editor's request gives the follow- 
ing: account of one of his adventures i"^" 

" During the Summer of 1872, the troop to which I then 
belonged (' F,' Fifth Cavalry) was stationed at Camp 
Crittenden, A. T,, which at that time was the most ex- 
treme Southern post in Arizona. The post was situated 
at the base of the Santa Rita Mountains, which at that 
time was a favorite resort of the Chiricahua Apaches, in 
their raids through Southern Arizona. 

" In the Summer of 1872, the Apaches committed more 
depredations in the vicinity of Camp Crittenden than in 
any other part of the territory, and we were poorly pre- 
pared to return the compliment, having only the one troop 
at the post, three-fourths of whom were sick with chills and 
fever, and unable to perform any duties, so that a sufficient 
force could not be sent out against them, to punish them in 
their favorite haunts. Still, Lieutenant Hall, the post com- 
mander, did all that possibly could be done, under the cir- 
cumstances, to afford protection to the settlers in the vi- 
cinity of the post. 

'* Indian alarms were daily occurrences, so that it was noth- 
ing new, when, on the morning of July 13, 1872, a Mexican 
ranchman, who lived about two miles from the post, came 
in at daylight and reported that during the night a party 

* Meda!,s won hv Serceaxt John Nihill, " B," 5th U. S. Artillery. {See Portrait.) 
The medals on the rifjht and left, respectively, of the Medal of Honor are {i) the De- 
partment of the East, " Skirmisher Medal," and (2) Division of the Atlantic, " First Silver 
Medal," won at Creedmoor, Sept., 1885. The medal under the first named is (3) the 
" liattery Medal," to be won three years in succession before becoming the property of 
the winner ; won successively 1884, 1885 and 1886 by the wearer. The medals under the 
Medal of Honor are (4) a " Marksman's Pin " and (5) a " Sharpshooter's Cross." The one 
on the left of the cross is (6) the Division of the Missouri " Silver Medal," won at Fort 
Leavenworth, Sept. 27, 1882. (For Nihill's Certificate of Merit, see p. 266.) 



VA 



TRAILING THE APACItES. 



of Indians who had a lot of stolen cattle in tlieir posses- 
sion had passed by his ranch at a quick gait. Immediate])- 
a detail of eight men, including the First Sergeant, under 
command of Lieutenant Hall, started in pursuit. 

" The trail was found within 6oo yards of the post, and as 
it had been raining the day before, the ground was soft, 
so that there was little difficulty in following it while in 
the open country. 

" The trail headed towards the Whetstone Mountains, 
which were distant about fifteen miles, south-east from the 
post. 

'' We travelled as rapidly as the nature of the ground 
would permit, hoping to overhaul them before they reached 
the mountains. 

" Several times the trail was lost, owing to it leading over 
rough, rocky ground, but as the majority of us had more or 
less experience in trailing, we would soon recover it again. 

*' When we reached the mountains our progress was nec- 
essarily slow, as the Indians had in several instances split 
up, so as to throw us off the trail, but they invariably 
came together again at some given point. 

" Late in the afternoon we passed some cattle that the In- 
dians abandoned in a deep ravine, as they were thoroughly 
exhausted and unable to travel any farther. This ©aused 
us to make as much haste as possible, as we knew they 
would strike into some of the deep canons in the moun- 
tains, where it would be almost impossible to follow them. 

'\ About two miles from where we passed the cattle, the 
trail led into a deep canon, where we had the greatest dif- 



MOUNTAIN FIGHTING. 



275 



ficulty in following it, ^nd then could only do so by dis- 
mounting and leading our horses. 

'' We had advanced in this manner about one mile into the 
canon, when we were suddenly attacked by about forty 
Indians, who were concealed behind rocks on one side of 
the cailon, and about 800 feet above us. The side of the 
ravine where the Indians had taken up their position was 
almost vertical, so that it was almost impossible to get a 
shot at them. 

'' At the time the Indians made the attack I was following 
the trail of some who had gone up the opposite side of the 
caiion. I was about 75 or 100 yards to the right of and in 
advance of the rest of the party. I took up a position be- 
hind a small tree, which had a fork about five feet from the 
ground ; in this fork I rested my carbine to steady it. I 
watched for every opportunity to fire at an Indian, but 
they were so well concealed behind rocks that it was 
almost impossible to catch more than a fleeting glance of 
them, as they ran from one position to another. 

" During this time, some of Lieutenant Hall's party were 
wounded, as also some of his horses, and to make matters 
worse, the Indians commenced to roll rocks down from 
the top of the cliffs ; these came down with such force and 
noise that the horses became almost unmanageable. 

" It was then that Lieutenant Hall made up his mind to 
retreat, and gave the men orders to do so, the First Sergeant 
and himself taking the post of danger, in rear, and giv- 
ing the wounded men the chance to get out first. 

" When the order was given to retreat I was watching 
a chance to get a shot at an Indian who was dodging behind 



276 TRAILING THE APACHES. 

the rocks on the opposite side of the canon. I did not no- 
tice that I was being left behind until my party had got 
a considerable distance ahead of me. 

" However, I started to catch up to them. I was dis- 
mounted, with the bridle-rein over my arm, and my car- 
bine in readiness for whatever might turn up. After I had 
gone about 300 yards I was fired at by an Indian, but the 
gun (a muzzle-loader) missed fire, and before he could make 
a second attempt I fired and dropped him. 

" In the mean time, three others rushed down the side of 
the cailon, with the intention of cutting me ofT from the 
remainder of my party. One of these stopped long enough 
to shoot at me, but missed, and I returned his fire, and was 
fortunate enough to bring him down also. The other two 
concealed themselves behind rocks, directly in front of me. 
1 turned my horse loose, and drove him ahead to try and 
draw the fire of th"e Indians. I moved about 30 or 40 yards 
to the right of my horse, making as little noise as possible ; 
when my horse got within about 30 yards of them, they 
came crawling around the rocks to the side where they were 
exposed to me, and just as soon as they discovered me I 
fired, killing one ; the other jumped into a ravine and I 
saw him no more. 1 kept on and rejoined my party, who 
were waiting at the mouth of the canon. 

" We marched that night to old Camp Wallen, an aban- 
doned post on the south side of the Whetstone Mountains, 
on a tributary of the San Pedro River. We made the 
wounded as comfortable as the circumstances would permit, 
and next day marclied back to Camp Crittenden. 

" A few days afterwards we went back with all the me"" 



THREE TO ONE. 



277 



that could be spared from the post, but did not find any 
Indians. 

" In the latter trip, Lieutenant Stewart went along. 
About one month afterwards he was killed in Davidson's 
Cafion, with Corporal Black, while going in with the mail to 
Tucson, and in a short time afterwards Sergeant Stewart, 




---«*' <>«^«i ::- 



Corporal Nation, and Privates Carr and Walsh, were killed 
about two miles from the post, in the Sonoita Valley. 

"The Indians got to be so bad that when we went 
to ' stables,' morning and evening, we took our arms 
along and kept them in the stalls while grooming. 

''The post was abandoned in January, 1873, and all the 
property removed to New Camp Grant, where we took post." 

Corporal Nihill's account is corroborated by the following 
extract from the official report of Lieutenant W. P. Hall, 
Fifth Cavalry : 



2/8 



TRAILING THE APACHES. 



" Oil the 13th of July, 1872, I was in command of a 
party of eight men of Troop ' F,' Fifth Cavalry, and fol- 
lowing a fresh Indian trail, which led into a deep canon 
in the Whetstone Mountains, Arizona Territory. My 
party was attacked by about forty Indians, who were con- 
cealed behind rocks. Private Nihill was a flanker to my 
party and about 200 yards on my right ; four Indians en- 
deavored to cut him off from the rest of the party, who 
were unable to go to his assistance ; his horse was badly 
wounded ; he, however, made his way through them, kill- 
ing three Indians. He brought out his horse, and acted 
throughout in a gallant and praiseworthy manner." 

III. THE APACHE CAMPAIGN OF 1885. 

The following is the statement of Private SYLVESTER 
Grover, Troop '' C," 4th Cavalry, who received a Certifi- 
cate of Merit for the affair which is, as nearly as possible, 
related in his own words : — 

** In October, 1885, I was stationed at Lang's Ranch, N. 
M., directly on the line of the Pan Handle of New Mexico 
and the Mexican State of Chihuahua. On the 9th of that 
month I was ordered, with Private Hickman, Troop 'F,* 
4th Cavalry, to carry despatches which had arrived from 
Captain Crawford, in Mexico, to General Crook, at Fort 
Bowie, A. T. 

"■ We left about 11 o'clock A.M. and put up for the night 
at a ranch about forty miles from our starting-point. 

" Next morning, before daybreak, we started off, and trav- 
elled at good speed towards Cow Boy Pass. The country 
through which we passed is perfectly level, except piles of 



rKI VATE GROl 'ER 'S '' CL OSE CALLr 2 70 

rocks called Mai Pais, with which the plain is covered and 
through which the road winds. None of these piles are 
more than the height of a man and horse, and we had a 
good view of the country around us and had no idea that 
any hostile Indians were in the vicinity, as the last we heard 
of them located them below the National Boundary. 

" About 9 o'clock, A.M., while passing near one of these 
rock piles, we were suddenly fired upon by about fourteen 
Indians, who. upon delivering the fire, suddenly rose up 
around us. 

" Hickman fell at once from his horse, dead, as I found out 
afterwards. My horse dashed' away with me and got about 
five hundred yards when he fell dead. I dragged myself 
from the saddle, got the despatches out of the saddle-bags, 
and with my carbine crawled to a pile of rocks about 
twenty yards off. 

** I could see part of the Indians chasing Hickman's horse, 
and the rest followed me up on foot. 

" I opened fire on them at once, and held them at bay. 
They did not know that I was wounded, and to that fact 
I undoubtedly owe my life. 

"After the Indians caught Hickman's horse they all made 
a break at me. I fired as fast as my wounds would let me, 
and at last had the satisfaction of seeing them leave 
toward the mountains, which gave me a chance to look at 
my wounds. I found that I was shot through the fleshy 
part of the thigh, below the hip, and through the left wrist 
and hand. 

'' For over two hours and a half I was lying under a 
burning sun, without water, and I felt that my last mo< 
?3 ' 



28o TR A J LING THE APACHES, 

ments were coming, when I saw a wagon approaching. 
With it were seven citizens, some of whom were discharged 
Government scouts and packers. 

'' I called out as well as I could, and managed to make 
them hear me at last. They stopped, brought me water, 
washed my wounds, and made me as comfortable as possi- 
ble, and brought me to the Post Hospital, at Fort Bowie. 

" Hickman was shot in seven places. The Indians did not 
mutilate his body, only took off his belts. 

*' My horse was shot four times, one shot passing through 
his body. 

'' I have since recovered entirely from my wounds, and, 
through the recommendation of my captain, have been 
awarded a ' Certificate of Merit ' by the President of the 
United States." 



This is a short, concise statement of the affair, which was 
really very desperate. The man is very quiet and modest, 
and not inclined to talk much about it, and does not think 
that there was very much in it. 

The affidavits which accompanied the recommendation 
give more of the latter part, after the citizens came up. 

Grover is about twenty-seven years old and has been a 
soldier about seven years. — [EDITOR.] 




1381 




SERGEANT JOHN HARRINGTON, 

THIRD U. S. CAVALRY. 



A SPARTAN BAND.* 



THE year 1874 was an eventful one in the history of 
the border. The Cheyennes, resident in the Indian 
Territory, the most warHke and powerful of the south- 
western Indians, had for a long time been restive, and as 
sooH as the grass had sufficiently matured to subsist their 
ponies, many of the younger warriors of the tribe, thirsting 
for blood and glory, formed themselves into bands and set 
forth upon predatory incursions into Southern Kansas and 
Colorado. ^ 

With their faces painted, dressed in barbaric costumes, 
and mounted on fleet ponies, these parties penetrated Kansas 
to the northern part of the Arkansas River, poured into 

* This chapter has been contributed by Captain J. S. Payne, U. S. A. (late 5th U. S. 
Cavalry), who participated \n \\]^ Indian campaign of 1874, and is familiar with the; 
episodes described. 

a8a 



IN THE INDIAN TERRITORY. 



283 



south-eastern Colorado, and swarming about the defiles of 
the Rocky Mountains, Hghted their camp-fires almost at 
the entrance to the famous Raton Pass. They killed cattle, 
stole horses and mules, burned ranches, and when they 
returned to their villages, there to narrate their exploits to 
the squaws and old men, more than one brave carried at 
his girdle the reeking scalp of a hated " pale face." Of 
course this whetted the savage appetite, and the warlike 
feeling soon manifesting itself amongst the neighboring 
tribes, the Kiowas, Comanches and Arapahoes, a general 
Indian war resulted. In August, a large force of cavalry 
and infantry, under the command of General Nelson A. 
Miles, then colonel of the 5th Infantry, w^as assembled at 
Camp Supply, Indian Territory, which point it left 
the 19th of that month ; its object being the pursuit, 
capture, or defeat of the large Indian force that, as had 
been ascertained by scouts, was at that time located some- 
w^here near the Antelope Hills, on the banks of the Cana- 
dian River. The Summer of 1874 was intensely warm, and 
no rain had fallen throughout that region since early Spring, 
so that the streams, even the large ones that traversed the 
Indian Territory and the " Pan Handle " of Texas, were 
dry, or nearly so. The troops and animals, in consequence, 
suffered greatly from thirst, but the column was pushed 
steadily on, until, after many a weary march through chok- 
ing alkali dust and beneath the fierce, pitiless rays of a 
southern midsummer sun, a broad Indian trail was struck 
on the Sweetwater and relentlessly follow^ed. Our march 
on the 29th of August was long and toilsome, but w^hen 



284 ^ ^^^ ^^ ^-^ ^^' B^ ^'^' 

evening came we saw the promise of success before us. Wc 
had crossed the wide flat plateau south of Ash Creek, and 
had reached its southern border, where it broke off into 
ravines, deep valleys and precipitous knolls, covered with rich 
verdure. Just as the long column was about to descend 
into the valley below, and as our eyes were resting with c 
keen sense of pleasure upon this picturesque, involuted 
landscape, brightened and beautified by the last rays of the 
rapidly sinking sun, great clouds of dust arose before us, 
and we knew that at last our game was within reach. 

We camped in the valley that night, and early next 
morning, near Red River, defeated them with loss in war- 
riors and camp equipage, and pursued them to the far 
famed Llano Estacado, or Staked Plain of Texas. We had 
been marching in light order, and now awaited the arrival 
of our supply train. Having remained in camp until the 
7th of September, and without news from our train, it be- 
came evident that the savages had cut our line of communi- 
cation, and consequently the command was forced to retrace 
its steps. The loth found us in camp on McClellan Creek, 
and here an event occurred so well indicating the boldness 
and skill of an Indian warrior, that I must ask leave to 
place it on record in this place. The troops were en- 
camped among several knolls that overlooked the valley of 
the creek I have named. The tired horses were out graz- 
ing on the rich bunch-grass growing on the hill-sides, and a,^ 
the command was dependent upon game for subsistence 
several large parties were out hunting buffalo, which w^ere 
numerous in that country at the time. 



PETIT JOHN SCALPED. 



A BOLD EXPLOIT. 



About one o'clock in the afternoon, whilst a number of 
officers were seated upon the top of a knoll, some one had 
called attention to two soldiers who were just leaving 
camp, mounted, en route up the valley, and the remark had 
just been made that it was dangerous for so small a party 
to leave the command, when a body of mounted men sud- 
denly appeared upon a high hill, further up the stream. 
They disappeared almost instantly, and whilst we were 
discussing the question whether they were Indians or a 
hunting party of soldiers, our attention was again attracted 
to the two soldiers before mentioned, who had now pro- 
ceeded to a point some five hundred yards from camp. 
The point of a bluff ran quite close to the creek at the spot 
the two soldiers then were, the valley narrowing to a 
hundred yards or less. Just as the leading man was about 
to turn the spur of the bluff, an Indian, mounted on a gray 
pony, was seen by us — though unseen by the soldier — com- 
ing at full speed around the point. He was followed at 
short distances by several others. There was no time to 
give warning. In a moment the leading warrior was 
around the bluff, and raising his rifle he fired upon the ad- 
vancing trooper, breaking the latter's right arm. The brave's 
lance was instantly in rest, and rushing upon his helpless 
foe, he ran him through, hurled him from his horse, and, 
dismounting, tore away the bleeding scalp of his victim, and 
flaunting it in our very faces, mounted and was gone. The 
other soldier had only his revolver, which he emptied with 
the effect to keep the other savages at bay. Pursuit was 



286 A SPA R TA N BA ND. 

made, of course, but so weary were our animals it was un- 
availing, and poor Petit John was unavenged. 

From the camp on McClellan Creek, General Miles found 
it necessary to send despatches to Camp Supply, and for this 
important mission a select party of six men was detailed. 
It comprised the following soldiers of the 6th Cavalry : 
Sergeant Z. T. WOODALL, Privates JOHN Harrington, 
Peter Roth, and George W. Smith, of troops '' I," 
"H," "A," and " M,-" respectively, and Citizen Scouts WIL- 
LIAM Dixon and Amos Chapman. The enlisted men 
wore the summer scouting uniform, light blue trowsers 
re-enforced with white canvas, dark blue flannel shirt, soft 
black felt hat, and top boots. Their blouses and overcoats 
were rolled on their saddles, and they carried neither shelter 
tents nor blankets. Dixon and Chapman were dressed in 
buckskin trowsers, ornamented with fringe, dark flannel 
shirts with sailor collars, and each wore moccasons and 
broad-brimmed white-felt hats. Every man carried rifle, 
revolver and two hundred rounds of ammunition ; a hunting- 
knife stuck in each man's belt. The duty demanded cool- 
ness and courage, and braver men were never selected for 
desperate service. The country was infested by savages. 
They were to be looked for at every stream ; every clump 
of trees might be an ambuscade ; in every ravine danger 
and sudden death might lurk. But these brave fellows, 
fully realizing their peril, received their final orders, 
mounted their good horses and cheerily set forth, followed 
by the best of wishes, and at the same time the feelings of 
deepest apprehension, entertained by their comrades and 
officers, 



SIX GALLANT CAVALIERS. 



287 



The red September sun was still shining across the gentle 
undulations of the prairie as the party left camp, but it 
soon sank in gorgeous splendor behind the purple hills, and 
the somxbre shades of night fell softly upon the vast plain. 
Deep down in the darkening shadows of the great cotton- 
wood trees that fringed McClellan Creek rode our brave 
adventurers ; not foolhardy, reckless men, but each confident 
of himself and of his companions, and resolutely prepared 
to encounter every danger. After several hours' march the 
party camped for the night, and at early dawn were again 
in the saddle. Between the rising and the setting sun of 
the nth they travelled nearly fifty miles, and when over- 
taken by darkness sought a secluded spot for the night. 

And now, before daylight of the 12th, our troopers are 
again on their way, riding swiftly across the great plain. 
The morning star has sunk to the very verge of the hori- 
zon and shines there like a ball of silver ; the stars over- 
head are beginning " to pale their ineffectual fires " before 
the rising sun, whose advent is heralded in the east, first 
by a faint, uncertain glow, followed by rosy gleams of 
brightness. Then the clouds take to themselves the gor- 
geous tints of the morning, increasing in beauty until a 
flood of primrose radiance pours upon the scene, and then, 
sending forth in advance long shafts of light, the Day-god 
leaps above the horizon, and soars aloft in luminous splen- 
dor. The dew-drops glisten like diamonds ; all is quiet, 
serene and beautiful in that great solitude. Not much is 
said by the members of the party as they speed along, for 
at such times men arc not much given to speech. Nothing 
is heard save the steady tramp, tramp of the horses' feet, 



288 A SPARTAN BAND. 

pressing the dewy sward, the occasional rattle of carbine 
against stirrup or saddle, or the sweet note of lark or 
thrush. 

'' FRIENDS OR FOES?" 

On, on they ride, now descending into an arroya, where 
all surrounding objects are hidden from view, now ascend- 
ing an acclivity, now crossing a divide, and again straight 
as the crow flies, traversing a dead flat. Every eye is on 
the lookout, every ear alert, yet no sound has disturbed 
them, no suspicious object has been seen. But they are 
riding into the toils, and one of them is going to his death. 
The dew on grass and flower was dry, and the sun was float- 
ing two hours above the sea of grass, when, as the party 
ascended a slight eminence. Chapman, whose eye was like 
an Indian's, said, '' Boys, we are in luck ; there is the advance 
guard of the wagon train," and he pointed to the north- 
east, where there was soon disclosed, to the full view of the 
whole party, a number of horsemen. They were riding in a 
body, and it was this circumstance that induced the belief 
that they were soldiers. 

But the meeting so soon to take place was not destined 
to be of the friendly and agreeable kind anticipated. The 
practised eyes of Chapman and Dixon, ever on the alert, 
soon saw, from certain movements amongst the advancing 
party, that they were Indians, and as Indians, at that time 
and place, meant deadly enemies, everything was got ready 
for the approaching combat. A brief halt was made, arms 
and ammunition carefully examined, and saddle girths 
looked to. The advance guard of the Indians, for such 



READY FOR THE FRAV 



289 



turned out to be the party first discovered, was now fol- 
lowed by a much more numerous body, which deployed to 
the rii^ht and left of the trail. They were now within 
half a mile, and as they rode forward in the sunlight it was 
easy to distinguish their brightly colored blankets and 
their war-bonnets, whose long trailing plumes of eagles' 
feathers floated softly on the breeze. Indeed, they pre- 
sented at this moment a striking and beautiful barbaric 
picture that our soldier friends, however, had neither the 
time nor inclination to admire. The point where the In- 
dians were encountered was midway between Gageby 
Creek and the Washita River, Texas. The country in the 
vicinity was high, undulating prairie, presenting, however, 
few spots suitable for defence. Hills and valleys followed 
'each other in succession, and here and there was an arroya 
or ravine, affording some slight cover. Timber there was 
none, and whatever position the little band of white men 
might take would be open to assault, front, flank, and rear, 
as well as exposed to fire from ever)- direction at long range, 
l^ut they were ready for the fray, and right nobly on this 
September day did they maintain the high reputation of 
their race for heroic courage and patient fortitude in the 
face of what seemed to them inevitable death. Capture 
meant torture, and of course there was no word or thought 
of surrender. Escape was impossible, so with brave hearts 
these gallant men went to the encounter. And now that 
the moment of conflict has come I will let one of the par- 
ticipants in this memorable border fight (Private Harring- 
ton) tell the stor)^ in his own way. 

He says: " Between us and the Indians was a good-sized 



290 



A SPARTAN BAND. 



ravine, to which we advanced and rode into, they being 
still on the opposite side. We had scarcely time to dis- 
mount and leave the horses in charge of Smith, before they 
were on us from all sides ; we sought what shelter we could 
on the sides of the ravine, and while we were doing so, 
Smith was shot through the arm, compeljed to abandon 
the horses, and" join us. About twenty-five Indians then 
charged down the ravine and stampeded our horses, taking 
all but one. Concluding that things were getting too 
warm for us and that we would have to find some better 
position, we formed a skirmish line and fell back, the one 
horse left by the Indians following us. An Indian at- 
tempted to capture him, when Sergeant Woodall turned 
and fired, and the Indian fell. 

'' We again retreated in skirmish line, receiving their fire ' 
from all directions. Whenever we attempted to secure a 
knoll or other vantage ground, the Indians would be ahead 
of us in such numbers as to make us change our direction. 
None of us even expected to get out of the fray alive, with 
such fearful odds against us, but all determined to die hard 
and make the best fight possible. We continued our skir- 
mishing, and whenever a shelter was secured, took what 
little r^st we could until driven out by renewed attacks. 

''At every halt, the Indians, dismounted, would surround 
us, closing in from all sides. The ' medicine man,' deco- 
rated with buffalo horns and an immense head-dress of eagle 
feathers reaching to his horse's tail, looking like the Devil 
himself, tried to force them to charge over us ; each time 
as they circled in to within about twenty-five yards, we 
would jump up, yell, and run toward those in our rear. 



WITCHING HORSEMANSHIP. 2gi 

The Indians could not fire for fear of hitting their own 
party, but would open out and allow us to pass through 
their line, firing at us as we went through. 

" It seems almost impossible that we should have received 
their fire, as long as we did, without serious injury ; but it 
could not go on so forever. We kept up these tactics 
until about four o'clock in the afternoon. The ' medicine 
man,' now the only mounted one of their party, kept riding 
around us all the time, getting bolder and firing his pistol 
when he came in range. Chapman, the scout, said ' not to 
mind him, for he couldn't hit anything,' but at last he came 
within about twenty yards, when Scout Dixon fired at him, 
after which we saw no more of the bold 'medicine man.' 

" By this time we were about fagged out, and our ammu- 
nition, of which we had two hundred rounds per man in 
the morning, nearly exhausted. Determining to make 
one last stand, we broke for a small knoll on the top of 
which was a buffalo wallow. While attempting to gain this 
position, Smith was again shot and fell, mortally wounded. 
Woodall was shot in the groin, and I in the hip. All 
gained the knoll but Smith." 

WITCHING HORSEMANSHIP. 

Sergeant Woodall writes (from his station, Fort Cum- 
mings, N. M., August i, 1886) of the clever tactics of the 
Indians, as follows : *' At this stage we were eye-witnesses 
to some of the most magnificent feats of horsemanship that 
could not be equalled by any like number of men in the 
worM, — rising readily from the stirrups while the horses 
were in rapid motion, and standing erect on the backs of their 



2Q2 A SPARTAN BAND. 

animals while they delivered their fire, and then iastantly 
dropping, as if shot, into the stirrups, swinging themselves 
rapidly under their horses' bellies, in which position they 
could easily aim and fire. These tactics were continued 
by them for some time. There was one spot on the prairie 
where the grass stood over five feet high. Toward this 
place the Indians would ride as fast as their ponies could 
go, and I noticed every time any of the men fired at an 
Indian near this place the latter would drop as if hit, while 
their ponies would continue on until finally caught by^ome 
of the squaws. Fully twenty of them dropped in this man- 
ner, leading us to believe that they were all hit. Nothing 
more was seen of them for about an hour, during which our 
attention was engaged in an opposite direction by another 
party of Indians, who repeatedly charged us, eventually forc- 
ing us from our position. In moving to higher ground we 
approached the bunch of tall grass, before referred to, near 
which we had seen so many Indians drop. We got within 
fifty yards when a line of Indians suddenly sprang up, pre- 
senting as good a skirmish line as any body of soldiers 
could form, and poured a murderous fire on the party, kill- 
ing Smith and severely wounding Amos Chapman, Har- 
rington and myself." 

chapman's heroism. 

Once within the slight protection of the buffalo wallow 
a moment's respite came. It was now known that Woodall, 
Harrington, and Roth had been wounded, and Smith, who 
had fallen outside, was thought to be dead. In a little 
while, however, he was seen to move, and these brave m?n 



CHAPMAN TO THE RESCUE, 



293 



at once thought of his peril. How was it to be done? 
The Indians were about them on all sides. To leave him 
where he was, was certain death; to attempt his rescue 
seemed almost as certain destruction to him who should 
attempt the gallant feat. The heroic Chapman volunteered 
for the attempt, and I will let him tell the story of his 
noble act in his own quaint and graphic way. Turning to 
his comrades the brave scout said : " Now, boys, keep those 
infernal red-skins off of me, and I will run down and pick up 
Smith, and bring him back before they can get at me." 
Laying down his rifle, he sprang out of the bufTalo wallow, 
ran with all speed to Smith, seized and attempted to shoulder 
him. 

" Did any of you ever try to shoulder a wounded man?" 
asked Chapman, when telling the story. " Smith was 
not a large man, one hundred and sixty or seventy 
pounds, but I declare to you that he seemed to weigh a 
ton. Finally I laid down and got his chest across my back, 
and his arms around my neck, and then got *up with him. 
It was as much as I could do to stagger under him^ for 
he couldn't help himself a bit. By the time T had got 
twenty or thirty yards, about fifteen Indians came for me 
at full speed of their ponies. They all knew me, and 
yelled, ' Amos ! Amos ! We have got you now ! ' I 
pulled my pistol, but I couldn't hold Smith on my back 
with one hand, so I let him drop The boys in the buffalo 
wallow opened on the Indians just at the right time, and I 
opened on them with my pistol. There was a tumbling of 
ponies, and a scattering of Indians, and in a minute they 
were gone. I got Smith up again and made the best possi^ 



294 



A SPARTAN BAND. 



ble time, but before I could reach the wallow another gang 
came for me. I had only one or two shots in my pistol, so 
I didn't stop to fight, but ran for it. When I was in about 
twenty yards of the wallow, a little old scoundrel that 
I had fed fifty times, rode almost on to me and fired- 
I fell, with Smith on top of me, but as I didn't feel 
pain, I thought I had stepped into a hole. The Indians 
couldn't stay around there a minute ; the boys kept it red- 
hot ; so I jumped up, picked up Smith, and got safe into 
the wallow. 'Amos,' said Dixon, 'you are badly hurt.' 
'No, I am not,' said I. 'Why, look at your leg;' and 
sure enough, the leg was shot off just above the ankle joint, 
and I had been walking on the bone, dragging the foot be- 
hind me, and in the excitement I never knew it, nor have I 
ever had any pain in my leg to this day." 

IN DESPERATE STRAITS. 

Fierce indeed had been the conflict, and desperate seemed 
the situation of the beleaguered party. Every species of 
Indian strategy had been used to subdue their spirit and 
accomplish their overthrow, but undaunted by the dangers 
surrounding them, the brave fellows proceeded to do what 
was best, under the circumstances, and make the most of 
the one chance for life now left them ; i. c, hold their posi- 
tion until Miles, marching back along the trail, should bring 
deliverance. With their knives and hands they dug deeper 
their little fort, some working whilst the others, keeping vig- 
ilant watch, fired at such Indians as came within easy range. 
The savages, Kiowas and Comanches, the finest and bold- 
est horsemen in the world, again resorted to their favorite 



'' FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH.''' 295 

tactics. Mounted on their fleet ponies, they would circle 
around the rifle-pit, coming nearer and nearer with each cir- 
cuit, and firing as they rode. But still undaunted, the white 
men held the red devils at bay. Smith, " faithful unto 
death," cheered his comrades by his heroic conduct; for 
whilst his life-blood was slowly ebbing away, he told them 
to place him — he could not move — upon the top of the rifle- 
pit, thus offering to make his suffering body a shield for 
the living, after his hands could no longer aid in the defence. 
But happily, succor was nearer at hand than dreamed of 
by the besieged. About four o'clock in the afternoon J:he 
Indians were seen to draw off, and shortly afterwards rapid 
firing was heard in the distance, and the savages were seen 
no more. A body of troops had been seen, and the Indians, 
after engaging them until nightfall, left the vicinity. Dark- 
ness fell upon a sad scene that night. Smith was dying. 
Chapman's leg was broken. Every man in the rifle-pit had 
been hit, and Dixon, alone, was not disabled. They were 
without food, and but for the blessed rain that came during 
the night they would have suffered dreadfully for water; of 
this they had only what fell in little puddles in the pit, and 
even that which quenched the dying thirst of Smith was 
red with his own and his comrades' blood. Could they 
hold out until Miles would come, brincrinor food and succor? 
What they felt and what they suffered in the silent watches 
of that long, cold, rainy night, none save themselves can 
ever know. The morning broke, dark, wet, comfortless. 
Smith had died before dawn. Would the Indians return, or 
would they be left unmolested until the weary hours that 
19 



296 



A SPARTAN BAND. 



must elapse before Miles could be expected, had dragged 
themselves away? Soon after daylight a consultation as to 
what was best to be done was held, and after considering 
all the surrounding circumstances, it was thought best that 
Dixon, the only able-bodied man left, should go back on the 
tJ^ail, meet General Miles, which it was hoped he would do 
within thirty-six hours, and apprise that of^cer of the con- 
dition of affairs. In the mean time the ammunition was 
divided between Dixon and those remaining; Dixon taking 
with him on his dangerous journey on foot just four cart- 
ridges. With what was left the besieged must defend 
themselves as best they could. 

Dixon left the rifle-pit in a drizzling rain, and had pro- 
ceeded less than a mile when he saw approaching him a 
body of mounted men. Unable to determine whether they 
were friends or foes, he secreted himself in some high 
grass and awaited their coming. The newcomers proved 
to be Major Price's command, a battalion of the 8th Cav- 
alry, with w4iom the Indians had been engaged the evening 
before, and Dixon at once made known the state of affairs 
at the rifle-pit to the commanding oi^cer. As they pro- 
ceeded to the buffalo wallow, Dixon walking by Major 
Price's side, that officer directed his orderly trumpeter to 
ride ahead and find the rifle-pit. Upon this trumpeter's 
saddle was rolled a red blanket, and as he came in full view 
of the party in the wallow he was taken for an Indian. 
Sergeant Woodall deliberately took aim at this man and 
fired, the ball happily missing the soldier, but killing the 
horse. 



GENERAL MILES' TRIBUTE, 2Q7 



THE RESCUE. 

So you see there was fight left in the brave fellows still! 

The long fight was over and the rescue was made. 
Food was given the almost famished men, and a detachment 
was sent off to inform General Miles of the condition of 
things. General Miles was found on the Sweetwater, and 
that night Chaffee, of the 6th Cavalry, with his troop, pro- 
ceeded to the buffalo wallow. Poor Smith was buried, 
and the wounded, mounted on horses, were taken to the 
supply train, which, as had been ascertained, was camped 
>n the Washita. Those were stirring times that followed, 
ior the great Indian war, begun under warm summer skies, 
was terminated only the next Spring. Many gallant 
deeds were done, but as the men would gather round the 
camp-fire the long and cold winter nights, they heard no 
nobler story than that of the dead Smith and the survivors 
of the fight on the Washita. 

That celebrated Indian fighter, General Miles, U. S. 
Army, made a special report of this affair to the War 
Department, from which we make the following extract. 
Upon his recommendation the Medal of Honor was 
awarded to each survivor. 

'* I deem it but a duty to brave men and faithful sol- 
diers, to bring to the notice of the highest military 
authority an instance of indomitable courage, skill, and 
true heroism on the part of a detachment from this com- 
mand, with the request that the actors be rewarded, and 
their faithfulness and bravery recognized by pensions, 



.98 



A SPARTAN B A. VD. 



medals of honor, or in such way as may be deemed most 
fitting. . . . 

'' Although enclosed on all sides, and by overwhelming 
numbers, one of them succeeded, while they were under a 
severe fire at short range, and while the others with their 
rifles were keeping the Indians at bay, in digging with his 
knife and hands a slight cover. After this had been 
secured, they placed themselves within it ; the wounded 
walking with brave and painful efTorts, and Private Smith, 
though he had received a mortal wound, sitting upright 
within the trench, to conceal the crippled condition of their 
party from the Indians. 

" From early morning till dark, outnumbered, twenty-five 
to one, under an almost constant fire, and at such short 
range that they sometimes used their pistols, retaining the 
last charge to prevent capture and torture, this little party 
of five defended their lives and the person of their dying 
comrade ; without food, and their only drink the rain-water 
that collected in a pool mingled with their own blood. 
There is no doubt but that they killed more than double 
their number, besides those that were wounded. The ex- 
posure and distance from the command, which were nec- 
essarily incidents of their duty, were such that for thirty- 
six hours from the first attack their condition could not be 
known. . . . 

" The simple recital of their deeds and the mention of the 
odds against which they fought ; how^ the wounded de- 
fended the dying, and the dying aided the wounded by 
exposure to fresh wounds after the power of action was 
gone, these alone present a scene of cool courage, heroism, 



SERGEANT KITCHEN 'S AD VENTURE. 299 

and self-sacrifice, which duty as well as inclination prompt 
us to recognize, but which we cannot fitly honor." 

II. AN AFFAIR WITH THE COMAXCHES. 

Another episode of General Miles' campaign in Texas, in 
1874, is described by a wearer of the Medal of Honor — 
First Sergeant GEORCiE K. Kitchen,* Troop " I," 5th U. 
S. Cavalry : 

"On the morning of the 9th September, 1874, Captain 
Wyllis Lyman, 5th Infantry, with ' I ' Co. of that regi- 
ment, and a detail of twenty cavalrymen, including myself, 
of Troops 'A,' 'H,' 'I,' and ' M,' 6th U S. Cavalry, 
left Commission Creek, Ind. Ter., to escort a wagon train 
of supplies destined for the command of General Miles, 
on the headwaters of the Red River, Texas. The General 
was at that time engaged in suppressing a rising of the 
Cheyennes and Arapahoes. 

*' We pulled out from Commission Creek at 7 o'clock A.M., 
and crossed the Canadian River at 8.30 A.M. When about 
two miles from tlie river, and about 9 o'clock, we were sud- 
denly attacked by a large band of hostiles. 

'' The train, consisting of 24 six-mule teams, was formed in 
two columns. The infantry formed line on each side of the 



* Georgk K. Kitchen enlisted at Harrisburg, July 21, 1870; assigned to Co. " H," 6th 
U. S. Cavalry; Corporal, April 2, 1872; Sergeant, May 2, 1872; Medal of Honor for 
action lasting Sept. 9th to Sept. 14th, 1874. Participated in an engagement with Indians 
under Lieut. Henely, 6th Cavalry, on Sappe Creek, Kansas, April, 1875. 

Re-enlisted July 21, 1875, Troop " F," 5th Cavalry; Corporal same date; Sergeant, 
May 7, 1877. 

Re-enlisted Troop " I," 5th Cavalry, July 21, 1880. Sergeant to date from May 7, 1877; 
ist Sergeant July 22, 1880. Discharged as ist Sergeant July 20, 1885. Character, " A most 
excellent non-commissioned officer, and thoroughly trustworthy and reliable man." 

Re-enlisted Troop " I," 5th Cavalry, July 21 1885. Re-appointed ist Sergeant same 
date, with continuous rank. 



300 A SPARTAN BAND. 

train, and the Cavalry detail, by repeated charges, strove to 
keep the Indians at a distance. 

"' In this fashion the command travelled on, fighting as 
we went, until we arrived at the sand hills, about one mile 
from the Washita River, Texas. At this point, after a 
short lull in the running fight, the Indians concentrated 
their entire force, and made a vigorous and united charge 
on the train. We afterwards learned their strength to be 
between seven and eight hundred warriors. This charge 
was repulsed after a hard fight, the Indians coming to 
within 50 yards of the train, and repeatedly attempting, 
after being beaten off, to overwhelm the troops by dint of 
superior numbers. 

" The wagons were then, as it was impossible to advance, 
put 'into park' as rapidly as possible, forming in an ^g^ 
shape. The infantry were thrown out on a skirmish line 
round the hastily formed corral, some 25 yards from the 
wagons. When this movement was completed, the little 
band of cavalry found themselves, at the end of some hard 
fighting, about 500 yards away from the skirmish line, and 
surrounded by the enemy. To regain their comrades of 
the 5th Infantry they had to charge through a mass of 
Indians, who concentrated themselves between them and 
the wagons. This was successfully done.* 

"On reaching the 'park' we secured our horses inside 
the enclosure, and were then ordered out on the skirmish 
line. 



* About this time a trooper's horse was killed under him. Sergeant Kitchen halted 
and picked up the dismounted man behind him, and managed, under a heavy fire, to carry 
him off unhurt to the shelter of the corral.— [Editor.] 



INDIAN TACTICS. 3OI 

*'The hostiles now divided, and about four hundred of 
them at this time made two unsuccessful charges on the 
rii^lit rear of the corral, defended by about one-half of the 
command. These charges were made in column of pla- 
toons, and the alignment was as precise and well main- 
tained as regular troops could do it. Each time they 
came up to within 40 yards of the line in admirable order, 
and only the perfect steadiness and continuous, well-direct- 
ed, firing of our troops prevented this well conceived and 
daringly executed movement from being successful. 

'* Our heavy firing, however, at last succeeded in repelling 
them in confusion from the very muzzles of our guns. 

'' The enemy then, unsuccessful in storming us, took up 
position on the numerous sand hills around, some as far 
away as four hundred yards, others at about only two hun- 
dred yards, surrounding us by a complete circle. As we 
lay beneath them we were exposed to a severe and vexatious 
fire from all points, and our return fire was comparatively 
harmless. When darkness arrived, we were divided up 
into squads, and orders were given to dig rifle-pits, from 
twenty to thirty yards distant, around the corral. The en- 
emy followed our example and were occupied in intrench- 
ing themselves on the sand hills they held during the day. 
Their object now appeared to be to starve us out, as they 
knew we had no means of quenching our thirst. The 
Washita was one mile away, and the one water-hole near us 
had been inaccessible during the day, and our repeated 
attempts to get at it, at night, proved futile. Several details 
tried to reach the water, but the Indians placed a strong guard 
around it, and their fire was too well-directed to allow of 



5q2 a spartan band 

our men getting near. They would permit us to get within 
fifty yards of the hole, in fancied security, before opening 
on us, and then poured in their fire in a way which balked 
every effort of ours to reach the desired spot. In the mean 
time, a desultory fire was kept up by them from all sides 
of us. 

** Next day this fire became regular and continuous, and 
was returned by us from the rifle-pits. The Indians per- 
formed sorne prodigies of horsemanship in full sight of us 
and in the most daring way, right before our fire, offering 
themselves in the most reckless way as targets for our fire. 
When we learned afterwards that Comanches were amongst 
our foes, we understood the cause of these freaks ; these 
Indians being generally reckoned amongst the finest horse- 
men in the world, as they are perhaps the most showy, 
reckless and daring. One at least of every three of these 
foolhardy * braves ' was picked off by the marksmen of our 
little command, but this did not in the least prevent one of 
his comrades from at once taking his place, after the dead 
body of the first had been carried off. This was done 
always by two Indians, riding at full gallop, one on each 
side of the dead man, who was picked up by them without 
their making the slightest halt, and dragged into shelter. 

'' When we first went into corral there was but a very 
little water amongst the command, and this was saved for 
the use of the wounded. From the 9th to the morning of 
the 14th of September, no one, except our wounded, had 
one drop of water. On the third day, when driven almost 
to despair by the torments of thirst, some men opened a 
barrel of vinegar, and undertook to drink it when sweetened 



PERIL AND PRlVATroN. 303 

somewhat by sugar. It was with difficulty that they were 
prevented from swallowing too much of the mixture. One 
of the ten men whom I had in my rifle-pit drank, in spite 
of my efforts to prevent any excess, so much of this drink 
that he became delirious and very violent. We had to 
tie him hand and foot to keep him inside the pit ; he 
frothed at the mouth, bit and fought, and exhibited 
every token of insanity. It was two days before he re- 
covered from the effects. 

"The fighting, until the night of the 13th of September, 
was continued in the sam^e way, we staying in our rifle-pits, 
exhausted by heat and thirst, and returning as best we 
could the fire of the Indians, who remained in possession of 
their sand hills. 

" On the morning of the 14th we saw^ with relief, the 
whole band of Indians pull out and move South. If we 
had had water we could have lasted a long time. Without 
it we could not have stood the siege for many more days. 

'* All our wounded got their hurts on the first day, except 
one trooper, who received a severe scalp wound on the last 
day. Lieutenant Lewis, 5th Infantry, was wounded in the 
knee, and afterwards, I heard, he had his leg amputated. 
We buried one sergeant, of ' I ' Co., inside the corral. The 
assistant wagon-master was wounded, and died two da}'s 
afterwards. Him, too, we laid beside the soldier in the 
corral, with brief but impressive ceremony. 

" One-third of the horses were killed, and about one-half 
of the mules. When we started again on our march, on 
the morning of the 15th, having remained one day to 
'straighten up,' a few of the wagons had four mules to 



304 A SPARTAN BAND. 

draw them, out of their original six ; the rest had only 
two 

'' Captain Lyman, about a week after the action, went 
over the ground, and in one ravine counted forty fresh 
mounds, graves of the Indians slain, but their loss in fatally 
wounded and disabled must have been much more. 

" The weather was throughout very hot, and the nights 
pitch dark. 

" We were met on the Washita River by General Miles 
and his command, and went into camp for a few days to 
'recuperate.' The rumor of this command's arrival near 
the scene of action had alarmed our opponents and been 
the cause of their sudden flight. We now learned that 
they were composed of Comanches and Kiowas united, who 
had left their reservation, on the war-path. After the 
fight with us they moved back, disheartened, we supposed, 
at their severe loss and failure to gain any plunder. At any 
rate, they kept within their bounds the rest of that year. 

*• During the fight, the stench from the dead animals, our 
own and the Indian ponies, was very horrible, and added 
much to the discomfort of the men, and the danger of sick- 
ness. 

" On the third night we were corralled, the First Sergeant 
of the infantry company came to me and asked how long 
we could stand this. I thought then perhaps the best 
plan would be to fight our way through to the river, but 
this would entail the loss of the wagon-train. The First 
Sergeant (Mitchell, now ordnance sergeant at Fort Assina- 
boine) suggested we should fire the train to keep the 
Indians from getting it, and fight our way off by it§ 



FOR GALLANT CONDUCT: 



305 



f light. These suggestions, made at the time, show that> 
at one time, we felt little "hope of the Indians raising 
the siege, or of our being relieved in reasonable time."^ 



* For conspicuous good conduct in the above affair, General Miles recommended the 
following enlisted men of the 5th Infantry for Medals of Honor, viz. ■ First Sergeant 
MrrcHELL, Sergeant William DeArmonu, Sergeant F. H. Hay ; Corporals T. H. Kell;, 
loHN T. W. Knox, and T. Tames ; privates Thomas Kelly and William Koelpin 
(now Battery F, 5th Artillery). 

On May 18, 1875, the medals were awarded by the Honorable Secretary of War, and for* 
warded to headquarters 5th Infantry, where they were distributed on July 28, 1875. 





PRIVATE WILLIAM EVANS, 

SEVENTH U. S. INFANTKV 



A SOLDIER-SCOUT'S STORY. 

HAVE you ever thought what a sensation it would make 
if a detachment of United States Infantry and Cav- 
alry, made up of men suddenly taken from the duty of the 
moment, were to appear on that busy thoroughfare, Broad- 
way, to illustrate in panoramic fashion the Army as it is on 
the frontier? To nine-tenths of the people the nature of 
our military service on the far-away prairies, or at the foot 
of the rugged '* Rockies," could in no other way be so dis- 
tinctly set forth. 

We will take our places on the steps of the Fifth Avenue 
Hotel and note the features of the procession. 

A post commander at the head of the column : fortu- 
nately for him, he has been making his daily informal in- 
spection of the post and vicinity and is mounted ; he is 
nearing the retiring age, but is well preserved, rotund and 

307 



3oS A SOLDIER-SCOUT'S STORY, 

bald, with stiff Rebellion Burnside to crown his florid face. 
His uniform is a simple blouse, fastened by one button, 
soldier's blue trousers, and gaiters ; as a conservative field- 
of^cer of infantry, he substitutes a light switch for spurs, 
to the evident satisfaction of his well-fed cob, which ambles 
quietly along. 

The commanding officer's orderly closely follows. A 
cavalry soldier this, in natty clothing and spotless side- 
arms ; the horse, groomed like a looking-glass, suffers him- 
self to be curbed behind his more staid brother of "the 
foot," but evidently longs for a gallop. 

With a free stride, but " route-step," a body of bronzed, 
athletic men approaches : the fact that they are soldiers 
cannot be concealed by a grotesque and unfamiliar dress; 
there are trousers of blue, tattered and torn, bound below 
the knee with strips of bagging, or turned up at the bot- 
toms, or pushed into the tops of cowhide boots ; there are 
shirts of all colors, open at the neck some of them, or 
with sleeves rolled to the elbow ; hats and ' caps of varied 
ages and patterns. Each man carries a spade or an axe or 
an adze or a sledge-hammer or a saw ; this is not a gang of 
laborers, nor is it a working party of military prisoners, but 
simply Company " L," of the — th Infantry, returning from 
its daily task of building quarters at the new post of Fort 
Barker. All drills have been suspended, and the necessary 
guard duty and roll-calls and Sunday-morning inspections 
are the only military duties performed by these soldiers 
for the last three months. Although " Uncle Sam is 
rich enough to buy us all a farm," he has frequent fits of 
falae economy of this kind. 



OUR ARMY ON THE FRONTIER. 309 

And now there comes to our ears the sharp flint-and- 
steel ** click " of horses' shoes on the stony street. Four- 
score cavaliers in plainsmen's garb of buckskin, mingled 
with a dash of cavalry light-blue and yellow, with soft felt 
sombreros and boots to the knee, pass in review before the 
wondering tax-payer. The spare, soldierly man at the head 
of the column carries upon his body the scars of conflict on 
the Chicahominy; the solid little captain near the rear of 
the column has a name borne by three generations of 
American soldiers ; there are other distinguished officers, 
so disguised by this bandit-like but most comfortable field- 
dress, that none but their men or intimate friends can rec- 
ognize them. These troops are a part of the — th U. S 
Cavalry, just starting on a campaign against the Sioux . 
when they come marching home again, their ranks will be 
somewhat thinner, their horses jaded and weary, but their 
task will have been done and well done. 

In rear of the cavalry come the *' packs," patient little 
long-eared creatures, trained to carry burdens larger in bulk 
than themselves, and to follow with sure-footed sagacity 
the leader, whose tinkling bell is their guide. 

** Who are these in bright array?" Sixty mounted men 
in helmets with waving yellow plumes, buttoned, booted 
and spurred, with bright sabres, bronzed carbines, sitting 
like centaurs the snorting, curvetting chargers that spurn 
the roadway with an impatience due to idleness and oats. 
It is Troop '' K," of the same regiment of cavalry whose 
curious outfit we have just noted. This troop has been 
left behind in garrison, and has been taking part in a pa- 
rade of ceremony. 



310 ^ SOLDIER-SCO UT 'S S TOR V. 

Three ambulances succeed the horsemen. Each is 
drawn by four nimble mules. The curtains are rolled up, 
and we can note the faces of the passengers. They are 
clad in furs, although it is not cold. They represent the 
survivors of three Arctic expeditions, and almost without 
exception they are from the cavalry and infantry — officers 
and men ; a mere handful of brave spirits, nerved and 
trained for world-wide exploration by their army service on 
the Plains. 

If the reader can imagine this Broadway spectacle, per- 
haps he may follow us to the great North-west, where, amid 
storm and wind and deep snow, a little party of cavalry is 
returning from a scout."^* 

The thermometer registers 42° below ; the driving sleet, 
and the breath from mouth and nostrils, freezing upon 
mustache and beard and eyes, forms a solid mask of ice 
upon the faces of the blinded, perishing men ; far back, 
like a broad red ribbon, stretches the bloody trail, where the 
horses' feet have broken through the sharp crust of the 
snow-drift, and the exhausted animals suffer themselves to 
be urged into a barely perceptible motion by their half- 
conscious and dismounted riders ; some of whom would 
fain yield to a deadly languor, from which they can only 
be roused by flat of sabre well laid on. The column is 
steered by a compass in the hands of the leading man. 
Left to themselves, these soldiers would never reach an 
earthly destination, but with a resolute, experienced com- 
mander, and a habit of discipline and obedience to orders, 
the detachment will, ere many hours, reach the shelter of a 

* See engraving facing chapter. 



SKIRMISHERS OF CI I ^ILIZA TION. 3 1 1 

cattle ranch, where they may be sure of a warm and friendly 
welcome. 

But there are other uses for the Army than to hunt the 
warlike Sioux or the treacherous Apache. Our friend the 
reader may see, as with the e}e of a bird, the little encamp- 
ments of a few tents each, scattered all over the public 
domain west of the Missouri and south of the British pos- 
sessions in North America. These are the bivouacs of 
military geographers, geologists, meteorologists, telegraph 
linesmen, and others ; they are the skirmishers of civilization, 
the outposts of settlement, the harbingers of Peace, and 
yet they are fitted out from the Department of War. 

But this is a long digression from the title of this chapter, 
which has to do with a phase of army life not yet touched 
upon. It is the narrative of a soldier — Private WiLLIAM 
Evans,* 7th U. S. Infantry — who won the Medal of Honor 
in gallant and important, if bloodless, service : twice taking 
'^ his life in his hand " as a bearer of despatches. The nat- 
ure of this service is set forth in the following document : 

** Headquarters Department of Dakota. 
*'/;/ the Field Camp at month of Big Horn River ^ July 26, 1876. 
" General Field-Orders, 

-.Vo.s- 
" The Department Commander has recently had urgent occasion to communi- 
cate from this camp with Brigadier-General Crook, commanding a force en- 
camped on the headwaters of Powder River. The duty of carrying despatches 
between those points, through a country occupied by a large force of hostile 
Sioux, was of the most arduous and perilous nature. A scout, inspired by the 



* Enlisted at St. Louis, April 26, 1875 ; assigned to " E," 7th U. S. Inf. ; enlisted Camp 
Baker, M. T. (Co. D). Nov. 2, 1878 ; re-enlisted Nov. 2, 1883. Corporal Nov. 30, 1880. Hon- 
orably mentioned in Regimental, Department and General Field Orders for gallant service. 
Medal of Honor, August, 1876. 

?9 



A SOLDIER-SCOUT'S SrORY. 

promise of a large reward, made the attempt but soon abandoned it as hopeless 
As a last resort, a call was made upon the troops of this command for volun- 
teers, in response to which not less than twelve enlisted men promptly offered 
their services. From among these the following named soldiers were selected: 
privates William Evans, Benjamin F. Stewart, and James Bell of Co. ' E,' 7th 

Infantry. 

" On the 9th day of July they set out for General Crook's camp, which they 
reached on the twelfth, delivered the despatches, and returned, arriving in camp 
on the 25th. 

" In making this public acknowledgment of the important service voluntarily 
rendered by these soldiers at the imminent risk of their lives, the Department 
Commander desires to express his deep regret that at present it is not in his 
power to bestow the substantial reward which has been so well earned ; but he 
is confident that an achievement undertaken in so soldier-like a spirit, and car- 
ried so gallantly to a successful issue, will not be permitted to pass unrewarded. 
The exploit is one calculated to establish in the public mind a higher and more 
just estimate of the character of the United States Soldier. 

" The Department Commander, on his own behalf and on behalf of the officers 
of this command, desires thus publicly to thank privates William Evans, Ben- 
jamin F. Stewart and James Bell, Co. ' E,' 7th Infantry, for a deed which reflects 
so much credit on the Service. 

" By command of Brigadier-General Terry, 

"Ed. W. Smith, Capt. i8th Infantry, 

" Actins^ Assistant Aiijnta7tt-GeneraV 

Following is an extract from Evans' modest statement : 
'' Being requested to furnish a sketch of my services in 
the army, and any remarkable incidents that I have taken 
part in, I will give all the facts in my possession. 

AN ARMY RECRUIT. 

" I enlisted in the army on the lOth day of April, 1875, i" 
St. Louis ; was sent from there to Newport, Kentucky, and 
assigned to the Seventh Regiment of Infantry. Arriving 



RECRUITS AiVD HOSTILE INDIANS. 



313 



at Carroll, on Missouri River, in July, started on our march 
to Camp Baker, Montana — distance, 165 miles. 

" There were 225 recruits, among whom four rifles were 
distributed for defensive purposes. The country was full of 
hostile red-skins. A number of friendly Crow Indians rode 
with the column part of the way, and it almost made our 
hair turn gray to look at them. We recruits didn't know 
the difference between Crow and Sioux, our information 
being limited to the wooden Indian of the tobacconist; and 
the old soldiers seemed to delight in our ignorance. On 
the fourth day we reached Camp Browning, where two com- 
panies of the regiment were stationed. After dinner the 
men not on duty were permitted to enjoy themselves after 
their own fashion ; some went hunting, some to fish, and a 
number, myself included, to wash our clothes in the creek 
near by. 

" About two o'clock the camp was attacked by Indians. 
All the hunters were killed, one of the fishermen was 
wounded, and some who had gone into the woods for fuel 
had nothing to defend themselves with but axes. Those of 
us who were washing clothes escaped with our lives. " We 
were entirely naked (as we had been swimming), and although 
some of the hostiles came near us they did not molest us ; 
probably taking us for squaws or lunatics. The Indians 
left, taking with them some of our cattle and horses. Lieu- 
tenant Woodruff pursued, and captured sixteen head of 
stock. We found the hunting party dead and scalped on 
the skirmish line, except one, and he had reached the foot- 
hills, getting behind a rock, where he had fired thirty-eight 



214 A SOLDIER-SCOUT\S STORY. 

cartridges (as we found the empty shells) before he was 
killed. 

" This was not a cheerful first experience for us, especially 
as we expected to march 200 miles further without any 
weapons. But we were not annoyed again, thanks to our 
friends, the Crows, who attacked the Sioux the next day 
and whipped them. 

WINTER ON THE PLAINS. 

" I soon had a taste of winter campaigning ; not winter 
according to the almanac, but as it is to be found on the 
Plains. Our company, ' E,' Captain Clifford, was ordered on 
the Yellowstone Expedition, March 17, 1876. Left Camp 
Baker, thermometer 30° below zero, with snow three feet 
deep. First day out all our wagons rolled down White's 
Gulch Divide. Spent all day getting them right side up. 
With two of the company badly frozen, travelled three days 
through snow three feet deep. Arrived at Fort Ellis ; was 
left behind to drive for Fort Shaw command, my company 
going ahead as escort to wagons. One of our men de- 
serted on road but was captured in Bozeman, and I was 
ordered to hitch up team and take the deserter 'and catch 
up with my company. Left the fort at three o'clock in 
afternoon ; got into a snow-storm on Bridger Pass Divide. 
This divide is a part of the Rocky Mountains, and over- 
looks Fort Ellis and the beautiful Gallatin Valley ; it is 
thickly covered with pine timber, and wears a virgin 
crown of snow the year around. It is at this place that 
the Northern Pacific Railroad tunnelled through the moun- 
tain, from the Valley of the Yellowstone to that of the 



WIiXTER ON THE PLAINS. 3 1 5 

Gallatin. We had not been out long when it commenced 
to snow, one of those blizzards for which that country is 
noted. Soon lost all trace of the road and started over 
a road of our own ; this was not a success, as before we 
reached the summit the wagon stuck fast in the timber, and 
we could not get it out without axes, which we did not 
have. It was the coldest night I ever saw. Left wagon 
next morning ; had to give deserter two mules and took 
two myself. Caught up with company at Quinn's Ranch, 
thermometer 42 below. On our arrival I did not know 
for some minutes whether I was alive or not. As Quinn 
sold what they term whiskey in this country, my company 
commander, Captain Clifford, ordered me, I think, about 
a quart, and it was all that saved my life. A party of 
men were sent back for the wagon ; they had a hard 
time finding it, and a harder time to get it out of the drift. 
Ever since, they have called it ' Evans' Snow Trail over the 
Moon.' 

CARRYING DESPATCHES. 

" On our arrival at old Fort Pease on the Yellowstone, the 
regimental commander. General Gibbon, desired to send 
despatches to General Terry, who was crossing overland 
from Fort Lincoln. It was necessary to travel by water, 
and, being a pretty fair boatman, the choice fell upon me. 
At that time I was a very young soldier and not much in- 
spired with the military spirit that afterwards was instilled 
into me by my company commander, the late Capt. Walter 
Clifford. If ever there was a man to train a soldier for the 
field, it was that man. Coming to me, he said ; ' Evans, 



3 1 6 A SOLDIER-SCO UT'S STOR Y. 

you are a good boatman and, so far as I know, you are no 
coward. I want you to take this trip. I do not want one 
of my men to go where I would not go myself, but the 
General will not let me go.' ' All right, Captain, tell the 
General I will go.' I and a scout (Williamson) and a com- 
rade (Stewart) started that night by moonlight. Our orders 
were to travel the stream only at night, but in this instance 
positive orders had to be disobeyed or we should have per- 
ished with hunger. Starting from the mouth of the Big 
Horn River in skiff, we proceeded down the Yellowstone 
very slowly, as we dare not use oars ; there were Indians 
on both sides of the river and we had almost to hold 
our breaths. The western bank of the river in many 
places is like beautiful enclosed parks, with elk, deer, 
buffalo, antelope, and other kinds of game down to the 
squirrel ; while in this part of the Yellowstone there is the 
finest mountain trout. The east bank is more mountainous, 
occasionally broken by heavily timbered bottoms. Farther 
down, between Powder River and Glendive, the scenery was 
really grand, as though we were sailing through a city in 
ruins, with the beautiful rounded peaks running up to the 
clouds like church spires. The ground was covered with pet- 
rified wood, shells and fish. I was almost afraid to stop 
there for fear of being turned to stone. The same night we 
ran past an Indian camp and were nearly given away by 
their dogs, who howled and barked while we pulled like 
good fellows until morning, when, finding we were not pur- 
sued we laid to under some willows and took a nap. The 
second night out, after running into various sloughs and 
carrying our boat over sand-bars, we arrived at what is novy 



CA KK VIA 'G BE SPA TChES. 3 I 7 

known as Buffalo Rapids. In running the rapids in the 
dark we ran against the rocks and smashed our boat. 

'* We, however, succeeded in landing with our rifles and 
one can of peaches ; all the rest' being lost, and not knowing 
how far we had to go, we sat down, rested and ate the 
can of peaches. We arrived at Glendive Creek about three 
o'clock P.M., and there met Colonel Moore with four com- 
panies. Sixth Infantry. One incident of our trip that made 
us ' feel strange around where we lived,' was the sight of 
three black-tail deer standing directly in line with each other, 
and we three hungry men stood looking at them without 
daring to fire a shot. 

'' Colonel Moore kindly sent his own scouts on with the 
despatches, returning two days afterward with the answer. 
We volunteered to return with answer, but Colonel Moore 
sent his own scouts, as he did not seem to put much confi- 
dence in soldiers carrying despatches. Those same scouts 
talked so much about Indians, and what they should do in 
case of an attack, that they scared each other almost to 
death before leaving. As Captain Pow^ell and the sergeant- 
major were present, I offered to bet $10 they would be back 
before morning, which bet the sergeant-major accepted, and 
lost. The first thing we saw at reveille were the scouts 
returning without either ammunition or rations ; they said 
they had run into Indians and had thrown everything away. 
I went up to Colonel Moore and told him if he would trans- 
fer the vouchers to me I would carry back the answer. The 
steamer ' Far W^est ' coming up the river, we all got on 
board and went up as far as Powder River, Colonel Moore 
giving me his own horse. I was just in the saddle when I 



3 1 8 A SOLDIER-SCO UT'S S TOR Y. 

espied the first boat coming down, which was the advance 
of my own command ; thereby losing my $250, which was 
on the vouchers. 

AN ARMY COURIER. 

" After both commands joined, nothing occurred worth 
relating, until after the Custer battle, which happened on 
June 26. After our return from that fated field to the 
mouth of Big Horn, General Terry, desiring to communicate 
with General Crook, rewards of $1200 were offered. As 
usual, citizens got the first show, and, as usual, failed, 
when General Terry called on the command for volunteers. 
Twelve men out of the command answered the call. Our ^ 
opinions were asked in regard to routes on map, and I was 
chosen ; I suppose because I made a success of the last 
trip, or probably because I chose the most direct route on 
the map. I had my choice either to go alone, or to take 
two men with me. My company commander decided for 
me that I should take two men with me, and also that they 
should be of my own company ; those that he knew he 
could trust. We were furnished by Captain Clifford with 
all we had in line of equipments, field glasses, compass, 
maps, and, above all, his own experiences in cases of emer- 
gency, which were very useful. Crossing the river at dark 
on steam-boat, with one company of cavalry as escort to 
come with us 12 miles, as the Indians were pretty thick 
around the bank of the river, we proceeded up Tullick's 
Forks until about 9 o'clock, when Lieutenant Roe, Second 
Cavalry, returned. My orders on leaving the camp were 
that, whichever way any two of the party wanted to go 



''KEEP cool:' 319 

in case of dispute, that the third should be compelled to 
comply; also to travel as little as possible in daytime ; but 
•on all trips of that kind you have got to use your own 
judgment to a certain extent. 

" We travelled all night. Our horses becoming tired, we 
dismounted behind the largest hill we could find, so we 
could look the country over at daylight and also rest the 
horses for whatever the day might bring forth. 

'' Not seeing anything stirring, we kept on until- we struck 
the Rosebud Divide. Going down the mountains into the 
caiion, we found the very spot where the Indians buried 
their dead, the first camp they made after they fell back 
from the Custer battle. The Indians were buried on posts 
set in the ground with poles on the top ; they were wrapped 
in white cotton sheeting which had blood-stains on it, prov- 
in2f that those Indians had been wounded and taken alongf 
that far, when they died. 

'* A CLOSE CALL." 

" We dismounted and had counted about 30 dead Indians, 
when around the bend of the stream came the head of a 
herd of ponies, driven by about sixty hostile Indians. 

*' As fortune would have it, we were at the bottom of a 
ravine in the caflon, and it was there Captain Clifford's ad- 
vice came in good — ' Keep cool.' We consulted a moment, 
and came to the conclusion that it was no good running away, 
so when the head of the herd came along we very quietly 
led our horses into the herd and travelled along with them 
until it became dark, when it did not take us long to get 
out of that vicinity. This was the closest call we had on 



320 ^ SOLDIER-SCO UT'S S TOR Y. 

the trip, though we were badly scared the same night, or 
about two o'clock in the morning. It was pitch dark, and 
raining as it had never rained before ; and as the horses 
could travel no longer, we dismounted. We took our lar- 
iats and tied them around us and let the horses feed. We 
could not have been more than 15 minutes in the place 
when we were all asleep ; the horses getting scared, tried to 
run away and pulled us in three different directions. You 
may guess we were frightened, but did not call out, as we 
dare not. It took us half an hour to find each other, when 
we proceeded on our way and found out afterwards that it 
was Crook's old battle-ground we -had laid down in, and the 
wolves eating dead mules that frightened the horses. We 
left the canon at daybreak and branched ofT on Ash Creek, 
a tributary of Tongue River, where we struck Crook's trail. 
Following up the trails was where the first dispute arose. 
About 4 P.M. we saw two different smokes at the foot of 
Big Horn Mountains. We were about thirty miles away at 
the time. Taking out the map we found out in which di- 
rection Goose Creek ran, where we expected to find Crook's 
camp. Then Stewart and I decided to take the left-hand 
smoke, as it was the most direct to Goose Creek ; Bell 
deciding to go the other way. So we failed to obey orders 
in so far as we let him go. He started and went about a mile 
and came galloping back with the very natural question, 
* But I have no despatches ; what will I do if it happens to 
be the camp ? ' ' Well, if you insist on going, tell the Gen- 
eral that we expected to find him on Goose Creek, and that 
if he is not there, that he will find us in Fetterman ; that our 
hard tack has given out, and that this command is on half 






GENERAL CR00k"S CAMP. 



3:21 



rations long enough.' ' WV^II,' he sa}'s, 'you can give that 
message to the General )'ourself; I guess I will go aJong 
with the crowd ; ' and as it happened, he was wise, as he 
\\'ouId have walked right into the Indian camp. We trav- 
elled all night, and about nine o'clock saw the glad sight ot 
canvas spread, but were not close enough to tell whether 
Indian tepees or soldiers' tents. Keeping right on we were 
rewarded with finding tents, and w^ere very lucky that we 
were not one hour earlier or we would never have reached it 
alive, as the Indians had attacked the camp that morning, 
burning the prairie and driving the encampment across 
Goose Creek, leaving some of the Third Cavalry mess-kits 
behind. When w^e arrived and saw it we did not know 
what to do, as we could not see the camp for smoke, but 
concluded to go ahead, — generally the best thing to do in 
Indian warfare. 

*' It was a great surprise to the officers and men when they 
saw us arrive, as they did not think it possible for any white 
men to be in that vicinity, and still a greater surprise when 
they heard that General Custer was killed, with all his men. 
We being tired and wanting rest. General Crook attached 
us to H Co., 9th Infantry, and ordered me to report to him 
next morning. But there w^as little rest for the weary in 
that camp, as there were present five or six reporters of 
prominent papers. Between them and the officers and sol- 
diers, we got no sleep until near midnight. The camp w^as 
attacked about eleven at night, we sleeping in the First Ser- 
geant's tent. When he left the tent to form company, he 
asked us if we would go along. I turned over and said, 
' What do you say, boys, will we <^o, or take our chances 



322 ^ SOLDIER-SCOUT'S STORV. 

sleeping ? ' Stewart said, ' Let us go to the next world 
asleep, if we have to go,' and we were asleep in a second 
and did not hear any more of the fight, which lasted over 
one hour, as we were told next morning. 

" When we left General Terry's command there were three 
Crow Indians sent out in a different direction, in case we 
should not be able to get through. They arrived in General 
Crook's camp three days after us. After asking in regard 
to trails crossed and Indians seen en route, the General asked 
me if we would volunteer to return with an answer, giving 
us our choice ; telling me both commands were going to 
join, and saying if we did not like to return, he would send 
the Indians. Bell's horse dying the day we arrived in 
camp, he could not come, so Stewart and I volunteered to 
return. He entrusted his despatches to me, sending the 
three Crow scouts with us. We left the command at dark 
and had proceeded but a little way when the Indians called 
a halt, and commenced eating their five days' rations, which 
did not take them long. Not being satisfied, one of them, 

* Buffalo Calf ' by name, came over to where our haver- 
sacks were laying on the ground, and picked them up and 
walked off ; they ate the contents of them, as well as their 
own, not paying any attention to our remonstrances. We 
then made up our minds that when we arrived in a country 
where we dare fire a shot, that there would be three more 

* good Indians ' ; but a lucky accident happened which 
saved them and also satisfied us. We travelled two nights 
and one day. At about noon on the second day we arrived 
at Custer's battlefield and there saw a calf, the only game 
we saw in the country on the trip. The Indians were laugh- 



HUNTING A DINNER. 323 

ing at us. Our eyes were sticking out of our heads with 
hunger. When I saw that calf I dismounted, and would 
have shot if the world was coming to an end ; but the In- 
dians commenced gesticulating for me to stop and they 
would get the calf, which they did, by running it down. 
Well, you ought to have seen us watching that calf, with 
our guns in our hands. We were bound to temper their 
appetites on this occasion. Whether they took the hint or 
not, they acted like gentlemen, cooking the best parts of it 
first for us and then filling our haversacks to make up for 
our rations, and having lots of fun at our pitiable condition 
and looks. There was nothing more happened, on our trip 
back, of any moment. 

*' When we arrived at Yellowstone our camp had moved 
down river, which was a disappointment to us, made up, 
however, when we arrived there, by the welcome we received 
from both officers and men. There being no steam-boat up 
at the time, we could not get our horses across the river just 
then. The steamer * Far West ' came up that night. It 
was commanded by Captain Grant Marsh, the brave man 
who ran his boat up the river for Custer's wounded soldiers, 
making the remark that he would go there if he had to 
take her overland ; which he did the bigger part of the way. 

*' Not liking to leave the horse that had carried me so far, 
across the river to be eaten up by buffalo gnats, I went to 
General Gibbon and requested him to get the steam-boat to 
go for him ; the General told me to go to Captain Marsh 
myself, that he would go for me if I asked him. Captain 
Marsh was at the head of the table at a dinner given to 
some of the officers and tourists that were aboard his boat 



124- 



A SOLDIER-SCOUT'S STORY. 



when I made the request. Pulling me into his cabin he 
made the remark to his guests that there was no service, 
either he or his boat could perform, that I was not wel- 
come to ; drinking my health, and at the same time order- 
ing steam up. General Gibbon made me a present of the 
horse for my devotion to him. 

" Headquarters 7TH Infantry, 

"Camp Mouth of Rosebud, M. T., 
''General Orders, Augiist 5, 1876. 

" N^o. 14. 
" In communicating to the regiment General Orders No. 5, Department of Da- 
kota, the regimental commander desires to express his obligation to privates 
Evans, Stewart and Bell for the gallant and important set vices rendered. In 
doing so, he recalls the fact with pride that this is the second time during the 
operations of this summer that privates Evans and Stewart have volunteered 
to carry important despatches at the imminent risk of their lives, and he con- 
gratulates them that they were as successful in the second effort as in the first 
Such conduct cannot fail to reflect great credit on these soldiers and the organ- 
ization to which they belong. 

" By order of Colonel John Gibbon. Levi F. Burnett, 

" \st Lieut, and Adjt. yfh Iti/antry.''^ 





I.riTLE WOLF AND HIS CAl'TOR. 
llHli LATE CAPTAIN CLARK, 2D V. S. CAVALKV.) 



335 



LITTLE AVOLF AND WHITE HAT. 

Lieut. William P. Clark, the officer selected by the De- 
partment Commander to capture the remnant of the desper- 
ate band whose fate has already been described, was a sub- 
altern of the Second Cavalry, and had for a number of years 
made the study of Indian character and customs a specialty, 
and was greatly respected by both savage and civilized 
men. He was young, handsome, brave, and straightforward, 
and the sequel proved the wisdom of his selection. In com- 
mand of a squadron of his regiment and some trusted In- 
dian scouts, the hostiles were soon overhauled. Lieutenant 
Clark says in his report : 

'' The next morning I struck an old camp of the hostiles, 
two days old, after I had marched some three miles ; and 
about two miles further, two of my Cheyenne scouts met 
me, bringing three of the hostiles with them ; said they 
went into camp during the night, and had delivered my 
terms, which the hostiles said they would accept. The 
three Cheyennes, brought to me, corroborated this state- 
ment, but desired me to go into camp where I was, 
and their village would move oyer and join me ; that if I 
326 



" WHITE HA T 'S " D/PL OMA CY. 327 

marched up to their camp, the women and children might 
be frightened and there might be some trouble. I decHned, 
of course, to do anything of this sort, but selected the two 
head-men, Brave Wolf and Two Moon, of my Cheyenne 
scouts, to ride on ahead and renew, briefly, kindly and 
firmly, my terms, and bring Little Wolf out to me as I ap- 
proached the village with my command. 

'' This the scouts did, and Brave Wolf added to the mes- 
sage in delivering it, ' I love the soldiers at Keogh ; I go 
with them to fight all their enemies, and if you will not 
listen, you will force me to fight my own people, for you 
are my kinsfolk.' 

'' Little Wolf met me about half a mile from his camp, and 
said he would accept the terms offered by my scouts, and that 
he was glad to meet me again. I marched my command 
to within one hundred yards of the village, which was in a 
natural fortress, — and they had strengthened it by breast- 
works of stone and dirt,-— and put my forces in the next best 
and strongest position about there, both for their protec- 
tion and to attack, in case there should be any necessity for 
such a measure. After about an hour, to allow the excite- 
ment to wear away and to give nay Che}^enne scouts time to 
talk the matter over with them, I went over to the camp, 
taking off my arms to show them that I had confidence in 
them, and briefly told them in council what they must do, as 
far as I was concerned ; that I had told my scouts to give 
them no lies and I hoped they had done as I had told them ; 
that the guns and ponies must be given up. This was the 
price of Peace, and they must pay it. I wanted the guns 
then, and would take the ponies when we reached Keogh; 



328 LITTLE WOLF AND WHITE HAT, 

that I was truly and heartily glad we had arranged this 
matter without loss of life on either side ; they had ears 
and sense ; they must listen and use their reason ; there 
were many troops and Indian scouts in the country, and I 
thought they were wise to surrender. 

''Little Wolf said, in reply, 'Since I left you at Red 
Cloud we have been South,, and have suffered a great deal 
down there. Many have died of diseases which we have 
no names for. Our hearts looked and longed for this 
country where we were born. There are only a few of us 
left, and we only wanted a little ground where we could 
live. We left our lodges standing, and ran away in the 
night. The troops followed us. I rode out and told the 
troops we did not want to fight ; we only wanted to go 
North, and if they would let us alone we would kill no one. 
The only reply we got was a volley. After that we had to 
fight our way, but we killed none who did not fire at us 
first. My brother. Dull Knife, took one-half of the band 
and surrendered, near Camp Robinson. He thought you 
were still there and would look out for him. They gave 
up their guns, and then the whites killed them all. I am 
out in the prairie, and need my guns here. When I get 
to Keogh I will give you the guns and ponies, but I cannot 
give up the guns now. You are the only one who has 
offered to talk before fighting, and it looks as though the 
wind, which has made our hearts flutter for so long, would 
now go down. I am very glad we did not fight, and that 
none of my people or yours are killed. My young men 
are brave, and would be glad to go with you to fight the 
Sioux.' 



Indian sign lang ua ge. 329 

" One or two others followed with similar remarks. They 
were suspicious, and the idea of giving up guns, at once, 
startled them, and in the fear of this, to them, immediate 
danger, forgot the future, and failed to ask me any ques- 
tions about staying in the northern country. I therefore 
held them to the terms as long as I deemed judicious, and 
compromised on my wagons as the place of giving up 
guns, to which they agreed. I felt that from this time out 
they would camp where I told them, and I could reverse our 
present position ; and though I had no fear whatever of 
any trouble, I deemed it best to secure this advantage at 
once. I therefore told them to pack up and we would 
move out a short distance that afternoon. We moved 
about six miles and camped. I issued them some rations, 
and Dr. Sabin kindly looked after their sick and cared for 
their wounded ; and by the time we reached our wagons 
a great deal of confidence had been restored and good feel- 
ing really established. 

" While the command was out the thermometer indicated 
33° below zero. It has snowed and rained, and the ice has 
gone out of the streams, leaving them sw^ollen, difficult 
and dangerous to ford." 



"WHITE HAT" AND THE SIGN LANGUAGE. 

" In September, 1884, a party of army officers, cut off for 
a week from mail and telegraph communication, whilst pass- 
ing through the wilderness betw^een Forts McKinney and 
Washakie, was approaching the latter post, when, late one 
night, a courier arriv^ed, bringing despatches and mail. In 



330 TJTTLE WOLF AND WHITE HA T. 

one of the letters the death of Capt. W. P. Clark, 2d Cav- 
alry, was mentioned. A day or two afterward the courier, 
who was the Post guide and interpreter at Washakie, told 
us something which excited great curiosity and surprise. A 
few days before leaving, he was riding some miles from the 
Post when he met an Indian, who, without uttering a word, 
and by means of the sign language alone, told him that Cap- 
tain Clark was dead ! The Indian had heard the news at 
the Agency, and imparted it to a man of whose language he 
could not speak a word. Now that Indians, like deaf-mutes, 
could communicate by 'signs' we all know, but here was 
an tmexpected QYtni, occurring thousands of iniles 2iW3.Y, and 
yet this Indian, without using his tongue at all, was en- 
abled to communicate it to another. The assertion was at 
first startling. Captain Clark, although known in person to 
many of the Plains Indians, could be known by his name to 
the very few capable of speaking English, but those who 
did know him must have some way of designating him, and 
here was the key to the whole mystery. Indians designate 
each other by some attribute of the person, or by some in- 
cident in the life of the person referred to. Captain Clark, 
while serving with Indian scouts, wore a white felt hat, and 
hence was known as ' the Chief with the White Hat.' His 
proficiency in the sign language was such as to make him a 
marked man among them, and hence it was easy for an 
Indian to designate him as ' the Chief of the White Hat, 
who talked so well with his hands.' Of course, if the man 
spoken to had not known of Captain Clark he could not 
have guessed who was alluded to, nor indeed could you or I 
know who was alluded to when Washington's name was 



GENERAL GIBBON'S TESTIMONY. 



11^ 



mentioned, if we had never before heard of him. All can 
understand how the person "once being designated, it was 
an easy matter for the Indian to state by signs that he had 
gone to sleep, died or ' gone under.' 

'* The distinguished officer, whose death was in this way 
spread amongst the people who held him in high regard, 
left behind him a lasting monument of his skill, industry 
and untiring energy. His book on the ' sign language ' ex- 
hibits not only these quaHties, but deep and careful re- 
search," * 



* General John Gibbon, U. S. h..^'\n Journal Military Service Itt*titu*ion U. S. 





COLONEL BENJAMIN LLOYD BEALL, 
SECOND U, S. DRAGOONS. 



Z2>^ 



REGULARS OF THE OLD SCHOOL. 

I. THE SECOND DRAGOONS* 

Pressing here my mossy pillow. 

Forms that moulder 'neath the willow, 

Forms that sleep beneath the billow, 

Flit and frolic round me now ; 

Banishing all thought of mourning, 

All my dreams with joy adorning, 

May they tarry till the morning 

Ere they breathe their " Hough ! " t 

" Hough ! " boys, " Hough ! "— " Hough ! " boys, " Hough ! " 

Let the soldiers' toast be ever 

" Hough .' " 



LET disinterested outsiders attest the excellence of a 
famous body of horsemen, where the modesty of an 
officer :j: trained in its school (who contributes the following 
reminiscences) may fail to do justice. 

The tone of the regiment, doubtless, had its source in its 
original personnel, created for service in the Far West, and 
the term of enlistment being but for three years, many 
young native Americans joined its standard for the sake of 
the adventurous career thus offered, and the hope of better- 
ing their fortunes in that terra ineognita. Thus a brother- 
hood was formed, and an esprit de corps established, which 
endured for many years, and which, it is to be hoped, still 
continues. 



* Now the 2d U. S. Cavalry. + Pronounced '■''Hot 

% The late Gen. H. H. Sibley, formerly Ca43tain 2d Dragoons. 

333 



334 JDAVID E. TWIGGS. 

THE FIRST COLONEL. 

The first Colonel, Twiggs, when appointed in 1836, was 
in the full vigor of manhood. Original, practical and of 
quick perception, he inspired the Regiment with an endur- 
ing faith and self-reliance. Severe in his discipline, he was, 
nevertheless, possessed of that bonJwiniuie which won the 
hearts of soldiers and ofificers. Of commanding presence, 
and of that military dignity so essential in a commander, 
his slightest wish was law, and a rebuke from him never 
failed of its object. The men of the Regiment feared, re- 
spected and loved him. A thorough tactician himself, he 
did not hesitate to place himself in the ranks of the ofificers 
for instruction in the sabre and lance exercises, and in the 
true method of intoning the: voice in giving commands, 
under the newly arrived officers, Captain L. J. Beall and 
Lieut. W. J. Hardee,"^ from the Cavalry School at Saumur, 
France. Educated in the school of martinets which per- 
vaded the Army at the period of his first appointment, his 
passions were unrestrained, and were often manifested in 
the most violent paroxysms of temper, resulting in inhuman 
punishments. This, however, was of but short duration 
after his appointment to the Second Dragoons. Perceiving 
the error of his ways, he adopted instead a fatherly care, 
and his punishments were more practical, simple, original 
and telling. 

* Afterwards Lieutenant-General C. S. A. 



REGULARS OF THE OLD SCHOOL. 335 

REGIMENTAL CUSTOMS. 

The regiment was constantly on the watch for some odd 
character. Thus it was with our quondam friend, Mr. 

F , who not only afforded us amusement, but feathered 

his nest as well ; and thus, too, Bill Williams, the most 
famous fiddler in the upper country. Hearing such marvel- 
lous accounts of him it was decided in conclave to send an 
ambulance and fetch him down, the officers agreeing to pay 
him five dollars a day and his expenses. He entertained us 
for a fortnight with the genuine " Arkansas Traveller," tell- 
ing the story as he played, " Harper's Fork o' Roaring 
River," and innumerable '' Scotch strathspeys." He played 
for us at the balls we'd give, notwithstanding that we had a 
band led by Seiior Chioffi, the most famous trombone player 
in the world, but who was not slow in acknowledging Bill's 
wonderful expertness with his fiddle. 

A " hunt " was organized, and men and officers were sent 
to scour the country as far as Alexandria to procure hounds 
of the best breed ; and you may rest assured. Madam, or 
Sir, that the welkin would ring with a vengeance when the 
twenty hounds, with their whippers and the hunters, would 
meet in the midst of the parade for a fox hunt. Horns 
blowing, hounds yelping, and men screaming at the top of 
their voices, would make a scene of excitement that would 
rival the most noted English hunting scenes. 

Such, and of such, was the daily life at Fort Jesup, be- 
sides, of course, the strictly routine duties of mounted and 
dismounted drills ; recitations in tactics, and in the resrula- 
tions ; and exercises with the sabre and lance ; the latter 



^^6 SECOND DRAGOON POINTS. 

made in the regiment. Saturday was the day for exercise 
in these arms : mornings for sabre, afternoons for the lance. 
The entire command would be assembled in columns of 
companies at open order, occupying the whole parade, and 
under the direction of the Adjutant, would be exercised for 
an hour by the non-commissioned officers alternately in the 
points, cuts and moulinets. The method of command 
taught by Beall and Hardee would be strictly enforced. 
Thus, commands of caution would be drawled loudly, whilst 
commands of execution would follow with a sharp, ener- 
getic voice. By this custom the men would be exercised, 
and the non-commissioned officers attain confidence and 
uniformity. 

The drills were practical rather than ornamental. In 
very hot weather the officers and men would be permitted 
to throw off their shell jackets or coats, and at a '' rest " the 
men were permitted and encouraged to sky-lark — so that the 
drills would be pleasant episodes, rather than toil. Leap- 
ing a pile of pine logs, by the whole command, would termi- 
nate each mounted drill ; and it was a rare sight to witness 
the grace with which it was done by some of the men, lance 
in rest. Awkward fellows, who pretended that their horses 
would not take the leap, were given stick horses, and made 
to scramble over it. 

The alacrity of the Second Dragoons was always remark- 
able. We were camped, I remember, near the town of 
Lecompton, Kansas, during the border troubles. The 
horses were picketed to grass on the prairie, about a quar- 
ter of a mile from camp. '' To Horse ! " was sounded, and 
;t appeared to me, in less than five minutes I was at a 



REGULARS OF THE OLD SCHOOL. 



337 



round trot and gallop with my squadron, passing in 
review the laggards who had not yet formed, and inter- 
posed between the two belligerent lines of Free Soilers and 
Border Ruffians. Each man knew his place and his num- 
ber in the platoon, company, and squadron, so that there 
was no occasion to count off. Promptness in action was 
always a distinguishing characteristic of the regiment.* 

A MODEL SERGEANT-MAJOR. 

Our Sergeant-Major, Tree (of the period between '42 
and '45), was one of the handsomest soldiers I ever saw ; 
and quite as perfect in his duties. His uniform was within 
a shade of the shell jacket worn by the officers. Indeed, 
all the first-sergeants were thus clad. It was with no little 
pride that the Sergeant-Major was observed crossing the 
parade. At the time I speak of, the 3d Infantry, Colonel 
Hitchcock, — the crack regiment of infantry, by the way, — 
formed a part of the garrison, though quartered in sheds 
and shanties on the outside. One day Colonel Hitchcock, 
together with other officers of the regiment, was seated on 
the broad piazza of the Adjutant's Office, his orderly, a 
spruce sergeant, lounging below, when Tree came out of the 
office ; gracefully saluting the group of officers, he descended 
the steps to the ground, when the orderly sprang to " at- 
tention," and saluted Tree as he passed ! '' I am not a bit 



* There is jjood reason to think that the successors of the Second Dragoons are not 
" sh)w " when a move is ordered. On one occasion, during the War in 1863, the regiment 
was ordered to break camp suddenly, and pursue Mosby, the celebrated Confederate parti- 
san, who had attacked uhe rear of General Meade's trains at Brandy Station. When 
" To Horse ! " sounded the men were lounging, the horses standing at the picket line, and 
no one thought of a march. In eight minutes the Second had saddled up, mounted, 
/4nd was trotting down the road with three days' rations in the haversacks.— [Editor. 1 



338 SERGEANT-MAJOR TREE. 

surprised," remarked the Colonel. '' The soldierly bearing, 
and neatness of dress of tJiat Sergeant-Major, would elicit 
a salute from any man in my regiment." This was said 
with a half suppressed tone of bitterness and envy. Phil. 
Barbour, his adjutant, had, doubtless, the same feeling. In 
fact, it seemed to be the study of the regiment to differ, 
and to distinguish itself from others. Accessories to the 
uniform clothing furnished by the Government, such as 
yellow worsted bands around the cap for ordinary non-com- 
missioned officers and privates, and gold lace for the non- 
commissioned staff and first-sergeants, were allowed and 
encouraged, to distinguish the regiment from the First 
Dragoons. 

A FAMOUS CAVALRYMAN. 

The Lieutenant-Colonel, Harney, like the Colonel, had 
been educated in his youthful military career in the severe, 
rugged school of 182 1. A man of stalwart frame, six feet 
four inches in height, straight as an Indian, and without 
an ounce of surplus flesh, his rugged face, sandy hair, 
and light blue eyes, elicited admiration and confidence. 
Thrown with roughs and Indians in his early service on 
the frontier, he emulated the most daring of them in their 
sports. In racing, leapfng, and other manly sports, he 
excelled all competitors. Simple as a child in his manners 
and deportment, he was yet a lion when aroused or enraged. 
When he was stationed at old Fort Shelby, near Nackitosh, 
in '22, I think, and when his face was scarce fledged, he 
attended a fishing party in which my entire family partici- 
pated. In the course of the day, when the young men 



REGULARS OF THE OLD SCHOOL. 



339 



were disposed to sky-lark, the Sheriff of the parish, a Mr. 
Johnson, a robust, powerful man, pretended that he was 
about to give my grandfather a ducking in the lake. 
Harney, being near my mother at the moment, she ap- 
pealed to him to sav^e her father from the impending catas- 
trophe. Approaching the parties and remonstrating with 
Johnson, the latter, releasing my grandfather, turned upon 
Harney, as a foe more worthy of his steel ; but he had 




GENERAL WILLIAM S. HARNEY, 

UNITED STATES ARMY. 

very nearly paid for his temerity with his life. He seized 
Harney round the waist with a herculean grip, and al- 
though begged and implored not to commit such a folly, 
conveyed him waist deep into the lake, and, uniformed as 
he was, plunged him under the water. Harney aroused 
himself in the intense vigor of his manhood and strength, 
shook himself free from Johnson's bear-like clutches and 



340 A MI LI TAR Y A'J'HL E ft, 

seizing him, in turn, would have drowned liim, in his wrath, 
but for the timely interference of the spectators. Drenched 
to the skin, his uniform ruined, he made his apologies to 
the ladies, and retired from the party. 

On the Upper Missouri he delighted in excelling the 
Osage Indians, the bravest and most athletic of the tribes, 
in foot-races, and hi the pursuit of the Elk afoot. 

On the occasion of Harney's hanging the Seminole chief, 
Chikikie, and a lot of his followers in the Everglades (the 
same chief who had surprised and massacred a detachment 
of the Second Dragoons, who were building a trading-post 
for the special benefit of his tribe, under the direction of 
Harney, who escaped by the skin of his teeth), the com- 
mander of the department neither approved nor condemned 
the act, until he was instructed from Washington to the 
latter course. But we of the Second Dragoons, six com- 
panies of which were stationed at Fort Butler with the 
headquarters, fired a salute of twenty-one guns, the mo- 
ment we heard of it, in Harney's honor This was but a 
single instance of esprit dc corps, and regimental pride. 

Expert in every department of his profession, of untir- 
ing industry and energy, he was at home in any situation. 
He was as skilful in a small boat as the most rugged sai- 
lor. Fretful and impatient under command, he ever sought 
detached and hazardous service. He commanded the 
detachment of the Second Dragoons in General Scott's 
remarkable campaign, in Florida. Three columns were 
started from the northern part of the Peninsula to march 
south, communicating with each other by signals : big guns 
and rockets. Harney was attached to the centre column. 



REGULARS OF THE OLD SCHOOL, 



341 



At night, when rockets were sent up, he leaped from his bed^ 
ran out of his tent, calHng out in his stentorian voice, *' What 
fool is firing those rockets ? Captain Fulton ! Captain 
Fulton, ain't your horses scared ? Well, it's strange they are 
not frightened to death ! I never heard of such tomfoolery 
in my life ! " Not a man in camp but heard his voice. 
" It's General Scott's orders, Colonel," some one called out. 
" Blank General Scott and the whole fraternity of Wash- 
ington generals. Does he expect to find any Indians if he 
makes such a racket?" There were plenty of gossips to 
repeat to General Scott the language Colonel Harney 
used ; and hence a bitter feeling was engendered, which 
lasted for years, culminating in the attempt to overslaugh 
him, in the organization of the expedition to Vera Cruz, 
and which happily terminated with Harney's capture of 
the heights of Cerro Gordo, the key to the Mexican posi- 
tion. On this occasion General Scott tendered his hand, his 
congratulations, and his thanks. An enduring friendship 
was established thereafter. 

In 1839 Harney was stationed at Key Biscayne. He 
had with him as A. A. A. G. Lieutenant Saunders of the 
Second. The light-house had been burned and the keeper's 
family massacred by the Indians the year before. Harney 
bethought him, one day, that the light-house ought to be 
rebuilt. " Mr. Saunders," said he, "that light-house ought 
to be rebuilt. Whose duty is it, amongst those fellows in 
Washington?" ''The Secretary of the Treasury has 
charge of all the light-houses, I believe," replied Saunders* 
* Well, write a letter to the Secretary and tell him, blank 
him, that the light-house ought to be rebuilt. Tell him 



342 ''PEGGING'' TURTLE. 

that it ought to have been rebuilt long ago. Tell the 
blank idiot that if he will give me the authority 1 will re- 
build it myself." " But there is no stone here," suggested 
Saunders. " Tell the fool to send to Boston for the stone. 
Have you finished ? Read it ' " Saunders read precisely as 
he had dictated, not omitting a single syllable of his angry 
epithets. '' Mr. Saunders," quoth the Colonel, with sup- 
pressed anger, and half inclined to laugh, too, at the ab- 
surdity of the whole proceeding, "a steam-boat will leave 
to-morrow morning for San Augustine ; get ready to go in 
her, and join your company." 

His chief amusement was to stand in the bow of a 
boat, with harpoon or grains, and strike the monster fish 
which abound in the waters of the eastern coast of Florida 
or to " peg " the enormous green turtle, as they slept on 
the surface of the water. The "peg" is an instrument of 
steel, about two inches long, one end shaped like a pyra- 
mid, with a shoulder about an inch from the point, the 
residue being a socket, into which a long, slender handle 
fits loosely. To this little instrument a long line is at- 
tached, which is held in the hand. The shaft is constantly 
held poised. Cautiously approaching a sleeping turtle, the 
shaft is thrown so as to strike him on the back ; the " peg " 
enters the shell merely, up to the shoulder, which closing 
over it, the shaft becomes detached, and he is secured to the 
line, by means of which he is towed ashore without injury. 
It was on such an excursion that he captured a sea-calf, 
that rara avis of the ocean. The skeleton was sent to 
Washington, and it is doubtless on exhibition at thi/ day 
at the Smithsonian 



REGULARS OF THE OLD SCHOOL. 



343 



CHARLIE MAY. 
Perhaps one of the most picturesque of the proverbially 
gallant sabreurs of the '' Old Second " was Colonel Charles 
A. May. He was one of the heroes of our war with 
Mexico, where, at the head of his squadron, and in company 
with Captain (now General) Pike Graham, Lieutenants 




Sackett,* Pleasanton,! Inge and Winship at the battle of 
Resaca de la Palma, he made a brilliant charge upon the 
enemy's artillery, capturing a battery and a general ofificer, 
La Vega, with a loss of one officer (Inge) and sixteen 
men and twenty-eight horses, killed or wounded. Like the 



* Late Inspector-General of the Army. 

t Afterward Major-General commandin.^ Cavalry Corps, A. P, 



344 CHARLIE MAY. 

'' Charge of the Six Hundred" at Balaclava, it became fa- 
mous ; unlike that charge, it was not a blunder. The equally 
gallant deeds of May's comrades were overshadowed by 
the personal characteristics of their leader. The Press 
teemed with wonderful tales of his prowess and horseman- 
ship, like these : " This gallant officer has immortalized him- 
self. A friend who has watched his equestrian movements 
at the camp describes him as a most singular being ; with 
a beard extending to his breast and long, flowing hair, 
which, as he cuts through the wind on his charger, streams 
out in all directions. He is one of the finest horsemen in 
the army. Nothing is too difficult for him to attempt." 
In Baltimore, one day, in 1845, ^^^ ^^'^^ fined for a breach of a 
city ordinance, in leaping his horse over a cord of wood 
in front of the City Hall. This horse was not less cele- 
brated than his master. He was a large coal-black gelding, 
and at the time of the Mexican War was about ten years 
old ; was sired in " Old Kcntuck'' by the celebrated *' WhipT 
May's eagle eye selected him from the mass — '' ignobile 
vulgusy Trained and tutored in the menage, Toms noble 
qualities spoke a blood and spirit far excelling his col- 
leagues. The delight which the ambitious animal displayed 
in every feat of daring or activity, seemed only to equal 
his astonishing powers. 

" OLD TOM'S " EXPLOITS. 

In Florida, in 1837, Old Toms amazing leaps and un- 
flinching spirit became notorious. One of his many 
achievements — the capture of " KiNG PHILIP " — particii- 
larly deserves historical notice. 

25 



REGULARS OF THE OLD SCHOOL. 



345 



The action of I^unhiwton was still nigitif^, and Old Tom s 
ardor for the fight had carried the gallant May ahead of 
his troop into the midst of the Seminoles, when their daring 
leader, " King Philip," sprung forth, with upraised rifle, to 
oppose horse and rider. May's sabre quickly swept the air, 
but the agile Indian avoided the blow as the fiery charger 
passed on. Instantly, however, did ** Old Tom " turn on 
his haunches (as his master has said, with all the spirit 
and purpose of his rider), and rearing high, plunged both 
his front hoofs into the breast of the Indian warrior, knock- 
ing him full ten feet (as is well avouched), senseless and 
thenceforth a captive. 

Coa-co-chec, ox Wild-Cat, then became the '' head dcviV 
of the real Seminoles, and swore vengeance on his father's 
captor. One of his attempts was as follows : May, in the 
habit of riding alone from his near post to St. Augustine, 
was returning over the sandy road, unsuspicious of danger, 
one very dark night, when he and Old Tom found them- 
selves suddenly am.ong a drove of horses. May's pistol 
was instantly cocked, for he knew that " Indians were 
about ; " and he determined to go ahead and get his men 
out of the fort. Old Tom made his way through, but the 
Indians did not fire, for fear of alarming the post. About 
half a mile from where they passed through the herd was a 
wooden bridge which Old Tom always jumped ; this, as 
usual, he did, when a minute after a horse's hoof was heard, 
in the black darkness of the night, to touch the boards. 
May then knew he was followed, and instantly reined up. 
The treacherous horseman came on to meet the discharge 
of the pistol. The Indian appeared to fall from his horse 



34^ " OLD TOM'' THE WAR HORSE. 

and escape as May rode into his post with the horse 
following. In the morning, the captured animal was found 
to have on him the trappings known to be Wild-Cat's, with 
a ball through his neck, and the worst kind of a kick 
from Old Tom's heels. 

The theatre of Old Tom's renown was next shifted to 
Mexico, where he quickly won the admiration of the 
rough and ready riders of our army, and the profound 
respect of the enemy. At first, the Texans were inclined 
to brag a little of their horses. On one such occasion, May, 
knowing there was nothing " Old Tom " would not try, 
shouted to a mounted party, '' Now, follow me," pointing 
at the same time to a ravine which no horse could possibly 
clear. Old Tom dashed on, but at the brink each Texan 
halted. His leap was unhesitatingly made, and all thought, 
for the moment, that horse and rider had been dashed to 
atoms ; Old Tom, however, had fallen unhurt in the soft 
earth of the chasm. 

At Resaca de la Palma, in the charge which took General 
La Vega, Tom's courage shone gloriously. The Mexican 
guns were not only advantageously posted, but had a 
breastwork thrown up, with a ditch in front of it ; in fact, an 
actual battery. So soon as General Taylor perceived it, he 
rode up to May and told him he must take it at any cost ; 
and off dashed the dragoons, going forward lilce a tornado. 
'' Old Tom " went steady at the enemy, all the time making 
tremendous leaps, as he bounded over ditch, breastwork, 
and everything else that came in his way. In this charge, 
an escopette ball, or grape-shot, struck him in the neck ; 
yet so steadily and unswervingly did he ''go the pace " that 



REGULARS OF THE OLD SCHOOL. 347 

it was not known until after the battle that he was 
wounded. The gallant Inge's fate has been much attrib- 
uted to the want of that steadiness and vigor in his charger 
which distinguished " Old Toiny 

At Monterey, a spent grape-shot keeled Old Tom over. 
May thought him dead, spoke to him in sorrow, but the 
old fellow in a few moments sprung up, shook himself 
heartily, and began to return his master's caresses as if 
" nothing to speak about " had occurred. All the damage 
was a large welt on his flank, perhaps the first time Old 
Tom had been oiit-flankcd. 

This one of the heroes of all Taylor's battles in Mexico 
fought his last fight at Buena Vista. He had been under 
the saddle for four days and nights, when on that bioody 
field this '' creature of heroic blood " began to show a fail- 
ing of strength, wliich his devoted master and friend would 
not o'ertask. May had Old Tom withdrawn, much against 
that hero's free consent ; and thereafter the old horse, by 
the interest and affection of his master, passed down the 
vale of hfe through paths of peace and plenty. 

'' OLD BEN BEALL." 

Bvt. Major Ben. Beall, notwithstanding his humor and 
love of fun, was a good soldier, and an excellent disciplina- 
rian. When in command, he was dignified and reserved ; 
off duty, he was the prince of good fellows. He could tell 
more unique and original stories, sing better songs, and 
stand up to his '*' toddy " more honestly than any man in 
the regiment. No one could tell his stories with the 
same grace, or humorous workings of the countenance, or 



348 COLONEL BEN. BE ALL. 

sing his songs with the same expression, and intonations of 
voice. The posts where he was stationed were kept alive 
by his vagaries. When we were in depot at Governor's 
Island in '39, for the purpose of discharging and re-enlist- 
ing the three-years men, Ben. Beall was in his glory. An 
English frigate came into the port, and, of course, civil- 
ities were exchanged. The British officers entertained 
some of us at the old Globe Hotel, away down Broadway. 
" Old-Strike-a-Light," as we delighted to call Beall, was 
there, of course. He amazed John Bull, with his versa- 
tile, never-ending humor. Amongst others he told the 
story, as given by a Frenchman, of the capture of the 
" Guerriere ' by the " Constitution." 

'' You see, I vas come from Marseilles with sheep load 
wine and cognac ; I vas go to ze Levant trade. By'm-by 
Capitaine Dacre he com vith zat ' Guerriere,' and he tak 
my sheep ; and he tak all my vine, an my cognac in he's 
sheep ; me and my crew he tak prisonares an he burn my 
sheep. Pretty soon he say: ' Ah, Capitaine Dufosse, I go 
look now fo zat Yankee frigate, ze '' Constitution." ' Pretty 
soon he see zat sheep. * Ah, Capitaine Dufosse,' he say, 
* I'm goin tak zat sheep in twenty minutes.' Ven he come 
up vith her, he give von broadside br-r-r-r-r-re ! Zat Yankee, 
he no say nossing ; — br-r-r-r-r-re, ze other broadside. Ze 
Yankee, he no say nossing ! ' Tonnere ! ' I say, * what is 
zat?' Br-r-r-r-r-re! br-r-r-r-r-re I from ze 'Guerriere.' 
Zat sacre Yankee, he no say nossing ! Pretty soon, when he 
come close — br-r-r-r-re ! br-r-r-r-re ! br-r-r-r-r-re — by gar, I 
go beelow. After avile I com on ze deck. Capitaine Da- 
cre vas giv his sword to Capitaine Hull ! I say, 'Ah, ha ! 



REGULARS OF THE OLD SCHOOL. 



349 



Capitaine Dacre ! You say you goin tak zat Yankee frigate 
in tzvcnty minutes ! By gar, he tak you in TAN ! ' " 

Given with the French style and manner and peculiar lin- 
guistical accent, in which he was inimitable, the story was 
received in great good humor, and rounds of applause. 

One of his legion of friends wrote an obituary notice,* of 
which the following was a part : 

" But Colonel Beall was not distinguished for his social 
qualities alone ; he was a soldier in every sense of the word. 
With a noble countenance and a commanding and well-knit 
frame, he looked every inch the warrior. Once in the 
saddle, his powers of endurance were wonderful. In mid- 
winter, when the valleys at the eastern base of the Rocky 
Mountains were filled with snow, when even the nomadic 
savage had to seek some sheltered nook to pitch his lodge 
in, it was then that the Colonel used to start on those ex- 
peditions against hostile Indians which rendered him so 
famous. Day after day, night after night, as long as a 
horse could hold him up, he would travel. During his 
term of service in New Mexico, he underwent hardship 
that broke down even the stoutest of his troops ; but cold 
never pinched him, heat never relaxed him, and hunger 
never weakened him. Incapable of fatigue, quick in de- 
cision, brave in action, he was perhaps the best specimen 
of a partisan officer our Service has ever produced. 

'' A character like that of Colonel Beall was apt to be 
r.iisunderstood by those who did not know him well ; but 
underneath his apparent occasional levity of manner there 
beat a warm and noble heart, and a conscience free from 

* Colonel Benjamin Lloyd Beall died at Baltinjore, Aug. lo, 186^, 



350 



♦' THE NOBLEST ROMAN: 



guile. A strong undercurrent of religious feeling tinged 
his whole life, and many a time, even in the field, after an 
evening spent over the camp-fire, ' in riot most uncouth,' 
has the writer of this seen the old Colonel, before he retired 
to his bivouac on the ground, take out his prayer-book and 
snatch a few precious moments from his restless and busy 
life for a communion with the things of another world. 

'* He is now gone, and in after-times, when the oft-told 
joke goes round and some old, familiar story that he once 
told calls out the merry laugh, a tear will mingle with our 
cups as we think of that true and honest gentleman, that 
noble soldier, that prince of boon companions — Colonel 
Ben. Beall." 

Who, when shattered and broken from scoutings and toils, 

In the Florida war, 
Could smile at grim Death as he felt his cold toils, 

In the Florida war ? 
Who, but valiant old Ben ? — bean ideal of men — 
Who wore gay soldier's tog in the days that we ken, 

In the Florida war. — 
God rest his old head where his blanket is spread, 
Far from toil and cold lead 

And the Florida war ! 

II. '' THE NOBLEST ROMAN OF THEM ALL."* 

The sun, which shines alike upon the just and the unjust, 
was reflected from the burnished brasses of the garrison 
of Fort Shaw, Montana, one bright day in the latter part 
of June, 1886. The troops were paraded to do honor to 
the memory of a distinguished non-commissioned officer, 

♦This account is prepared from data furnished by Lieut. Philip Reade, Third U. S. 
Infantry. 



REGULARS OF THE OLD SCHOOL, 



351 



who for thirty-five years had helped to defend the Flag of his 
Country with all the power of his strong right arm and 
with all the force of his brave, honest and intelligent exam- 
ple. According to Army Regulations, the funeral escort or 
'* firing party " for a sergeant Consists of sixteen privates 
commanded by a sergeant, and it is further provided that the 
funeral shall be attended by the non-commissioned officers 
of the company or regiment, with side-arms only. But 
the Colonel of the Third Infantry, responding to the esprit 
de corps which has ever been a marked feature of that 




SERGEANT JAMES FEGAN, 

THIRD U. S. INFANTRY. 



regiment, ordered out the entire garrison in full dress to 
follow the remains of one who represented a type of the 
American Army, now, alas ! seldom to be met with. 

The band, playing a dirge, preceded the cortege; then 
came the firing party, selected with care from the oldest 
and best privates, with reversed arms, commanded by a 
sergeant of twenty years' service ; then the body on an ar- 
tillery carriage covered with the Stars and Stripes, and 



35^ SERGEANT FEGAlV. 

guarded by six stalwart non-commissioned officers as pall- 
bearers ; the chaplain and the surgeon ; the family — the 
gray-haired widow supported by an only son, successor to 
his father's post of First Sergeant ; the post and regimen- 
tal commander as chief mourner for the regiment ; the 
other commissioned officers in the order of rank ; four 
companies of infantry, with the colors draped in mourn- 
ing ; last of all, a number of civilians living in the vicinity. 
Soon are heard the three sharp volleys of musketry which 
terminate the old soldier's last parade, and with a heart- 
felt '' peace to his ashes," the martial procession returns 
with quickened pace and livelier music to the duty of the 
hour. 

Let us glance at the military record of the enlisted man 
who was deemed worthy of these extraordinary honors. 

SERGEANT FEGAN, THIRD INFANTRY. 

James Fegan was born in Athlone, Ireland, in 1827, and 
acquired military habits in the constabulary there. Coming 
to this country in early life, he enlisted as a private in 
Company *' I," Second United States Infantry, October 29, 
185 1. From that time to 1886 he had been almost 
continuously in the service of the United States as a sol- 
dier, and his record reads more like that of a warrior of the 
early centuries, when war was man's chief pastime, than that 
of a dweller in the New World who was born in the present 
century. Fegan soon proved himself faithful, and was 
promoted to be corporal and then sergeant, and in due 
time, his term of enlistment having expired, he re-enlisted. 
Again and again was he discharged and as often re-enlisted| 



! 



kEGULAkS OF THE OLD SCHOOL. 353 

until 1861, when he entered upon active service in the 
Army of the Potomac for three years. 

HIS ACTIVE SERVICE. 

He served with his company at the Siege of Yorktown, 
Gaines' Mills, Malvern Hill, Hanover Court House, Fair 
Oaks, Harrison's Landing, Bull Run, Centreville, South 
Mountain and Antietam. At Antietam he was wounded by 
a rifle bullet in the right leg, but was re-enlisted March 31, 
1864, in Company '' C," Third Infantry, and when again 
discharged, his papers showed he had participated in the 
following engagements : Petersburg, Reams Station, James 
Station, Birney Station, Stonemans Creek, first and second 
Deep Bottom, South Side Railroad, Danville Railroad, Boyd- 
ton Plank Road, Appomattox Station, Farmsville City, New 
House, Savage Station, Reno Station, Manchester, Richmond^ 
Dunwiddie, C. H., Burksville Junction, Appomattox Court 
House, Surrender of Lee's Arjny. Sergeant Fegan had re- 
ceived several wounds, and one would naturally suppose he 
had had enough of a soldier's career to satisfy him for the 
remainder of his life. Such, however, was not the case. 
Twice he re-enlisted after this, but after the second enlist- 
ment he was prevailed upon to seek admission to the Sol- 
diers* Home at Washington, whither he went in 1870. Ex- 
istence at the quiet retreat was too tame a thing for him, 
and he succeeded in obtaining a discharge and at once re- 
joined the Army. And there he remained to the day of 
his death, participating in all the duties, dangers and vi- 
cissitudes of the Service, honored by his associates and 
trusted by his superior officers. 



354 ^^ OLD SOLDIER'S EXPLOITS. 



A DISTINGUISHED RECORD. 



His record bears many endorsements of his bravery and 
efficiency by commanding officers, and he has participated 
in numerous thrilling experiences, besides pitched battles, 
during the war and with the Indians. He stood guard, sin- 
gle-handed and alone, over a deserter he had captured and 
a mule train freighted with gun-powder, at Plum Creek, 
Kansas, when a cowardly assault was made upon him by 
another soldier and a crowd of citizens, and he took both 
deserter and powder to camp. For this. Sergeant Fegan 
received the Medal of Honor, and was mentioned in Orders, 
as follows : 

" Headquarters Fort Dodge, Kansas. 
''March 13, 1868. 
" Special Orders y 
" No. 39. 

" It becomes the pleasant duty of the commanding officer to notice in terms 
of approbation, the conduct of Sergeant James Fegan of Company ' H,' 3d 
U. S. Infantry, while in charge of a supply train en route from P'ort Harker to 
Fort Dodge, Kansas. 

" During the journey, while encamped at Plum Creek, Sergeant John W. 
Blake, Troop ' B,' 7th U. S. Cavalry, aided by some citizens, made a violent 
and cowardly assault upon Sergeant Fegan, while the latter was guarding a 
deserter, whom he had recently apprehended. He was threatened with death 
if he did not allow the prisoner to escape ; but true to his trust and to his good 
record as a soldier, he yielded nothing but what was wrested from him by 
force. And at the same time defended himself with great courage and ability. 
He defended, single-handed, the train freighted with gunpowder, when threat- 
ened, and brought it safely to this Post. 

"The courage and firmness with which Sergeant Fegan performed this dif- 
ficult duty is worthy of all praise, and is in keeping with his excellent record 



REGULARS OF THE OLD SCHOOL. 355 

as a soldier through many years of service. His conduct is wort"hy the em- 
ulation of all the soldiers of this Command who deem their profession honor- 
able, and who desire to fulfil the requirements of it with honor and credit to 
themselves. 

'' By order of Major H. DOUGLAS. 
" Thomas S. Wallace, 

*' 2d Lieut. 3^ U. S. Infantry, 
'' Post Adjutant:' 

In a recent letter from Sergeant Fegan's company com- 
mander, he says : ' 

A commander's tribute. 

"■ He was exemplary in his habits, honest, truthful, 
slow to anger, conscientious, respectful and soldierly in 
his demeanor to officers, a tower of strength among the 
men. In personal appearance, he resembled General Har- 
ney as the latter looked thirty years ago. Many humorous 
stories are told of Fegan. He was a character whose life 
and habits furnished many salients whereon to hang anec- 
dotes. His own son, James Fegan, Jr., enlisted in H Com- 
pany, 3d Infantry, eleven years ago, and was last year pro- 
moted to be First Sergeant of the Company. 

'^ The singular spectacle of father and son both serving as 
sergeants in the same organization thus presents itself. We 
were proud of old Fegan, who, from his earnings, gave his 
son what he lacked himself ; to wit, a good education. 
As long ago as 1867 the old soldier brought me $2800 to 
keep for him. This was in an adobe hut on the banks of 
the muddy Arkansas, at Fort Dodge. Calling his wife to 
him, he bade her ' dhrop a curtsey to the Liftinint ! * 
This she did. The old warrior was over six feet. Standing 



356 A VERypRESW RECRUIT. 

erect, his long arms were just able to rest on the curly head 
of a miniature reproduction of himself as he sonorously 
said : ' Liftinint ! The proudest fither in his father's cap 
it will be whin he sees this lad idducated like an officer 
and a gintleman. An' we've got the monney to do it, too, 
— haven't we, ould woman ? Dhrop a curtsey, woman ! 
Right-hand salute, Jhames, to the Liftinint ! ' 

'' At another time, — hour, midnight ; place, the guard- 
house, — he being the Sergeant of the Guard, was, addressed 
by a rather fresh recruit as 'Jim.' Whack I and the neo- 
phyte was sprawling, while seventy-five inches of irate, 
Hibernian, soldierly humanity roared out: ^ Jim, is it? 
Whin I'm on dhuty it's "Sergeant Faygan" ye'U call 
me. Whin I'm off dhuty, thin, an' not till \.\)\n,Yvcv Jim ! 
D'ye mind it! D'ye MIND it ! ' And he again flourished 
a fist as big as a Missouri ham in the face of the terrified 
recruit. 

'* If you have received any impression from this screed 
that Fegan was a coarse, or brutal, or over-exacting man, 
you are in error. He appreciated himself at his exact value ; 
no more, no less. Officers were, to him, of the '■ quality,'— 
clay different from his. He was a devout Roman Catholic. 

LOYALTY AND FIDELITY. 

" In 1868, a Deputy U. S. Marshal came to Fort Dodge 
one evening to arrest me. The suit was at the instance of 
some citizens who had been broken up by me in the busi- 
ness of trading whiskey to Arrapahoe and Cheyenne Indi- 
ans. Having had warning of the advent of the hapless dep- 
uty U. S, M., I casually — very casually, you will understand. 



REGULARS OF THE OLD SCHOOL. 357 

— mentioned the fact to Sergeant Fegan. He carelessly 
asked where would the U. S. M. sleep. Similarly, without 
assignable reason, he inquired would I be at the Post Trad- 
er's until, mayhap, midnight, that night ? I incidentally 
gave him information and details. Of course there was 
an entire absence of purpose in three or four circumstances 
that followed ; to wit (i), I domiciled and fed and drank the 
D. U. S. M. in my own quarters, suggesting that he defer 
until the next day any business he might have with me. 
(2) By a singular coincidence, the night that I spent at bill- 
iards at the sutler's store, old Fegan and a few steady men 
of my company had passes, with permission to be absent 
from the Reservation. (3) When I returned to my quarters, 
I tip-toed to the room where I had left my Deputy U. S. M. 
asleep, but was astounded to find the bed empty, his bag- 
gage gone, the man nowhere to be found. 

*' Long afterward the Deputy told me — he was a pretty 

clever fellow, Charley W by name — that late that night 

he was gently but resolutely awakened from his stupor — 
slumbers, I mean — by a giant, who had a whisper like the 
North wind and the sinews of a Goliath, who enjoined 
him to get up, dress, pack his things and silently follow him 
to a wagon. By the way the Hercules spoke, the Deputy 
U. S. M. thought he meant it, and he meekly com- 
plied. Without injury of any kind, the civil functionary 
was taken to a point on Pawnee Creek, and there advised to 
take the stage away from Fort Dodge. He did so. Old 
Fegan always looked preternaturally sober whenever I tried 
to talk about it. Do you blame me for feeling that in his 
death I lost a friend ? " 



358 ^^^ AMERICAN PRIVA TE SOLDIER. 

THE " MEN BEHIND THE MUSKETS." 

" The Annals of War abound with names of titled military 
men, generals, colonels, and those of lesser rank but equal 
bravery, to whom their country and the world have justly 
awarded the deathless meed that heroism everywhere and 
always deserves. No one questions the right of these 
valiant warriors to wear their laurels and to enjoy their 
well-earned renown. Physical bravery and soldierly leader 
ship will be admired and extolled by humanity for ages to 
come, and it is right that they should be. The people that 
has no appreciation of dauntless manhood and the prowess 
of military chieftainship is likely to be one of poor spirit, 
incapable of the noblest and best inspirations. But some- 
times, to a close observer, it would seem that the incense 
cloud which popular feeling continually keeps ascending 
before the shrine of the greater heroes, obscures and belittles 
the deeds of the humbler ones. The general, the colonel 
and their subordinates plan the battles, marshal the armies 
and keep the serried ranks in order, inspiring those under 
their command by counsel and examples, but it is the men 
behind the muskets who do the fighting and win the victo- 
ries. Never was this exemplified in a more striking way 
than during our own great struggle of twenty years ago. 
The American Private Soldier gained the admiration and 
applause of the world by his sublime heroism ; animated by 
a grand purpose and thinking while he fought of all that de- 
pended upon his exertions, he was doubly a hero — a hero 
physically and morally — and he won battles and achieved 
triumphs, often under the most adverse circumstances, and 



REGULARS OF THE OLD SCHOOL. 



359 



despite bad generalship, for it must not be forgotten that 
we had bad as well as good leaders. So when we crown the 
titled soldier with laurels and wave incense before his face, 
we must not fail to remember that behind and around him 
cluster the memories of thousands of private soldiers whose 
thinking and fighting were factors that largely helped to 
give him his fame." 



FIRST SERGEANT JAMES FEGAN, 
Company H, 30 U. S. Infantry ; 
Died at Fort Shmv, Montana^ 
Jtme 25, 1886, aged 59. 
Service. Enlisted in Co. I, 2d Infantry, Oct. 29, 1851 ; re-enlisted Aug. 29, 1856 ; re- 
enlisted July I, 1861. Re-enlisted in Co. C, 3d Infantry, March 31, 1864; re-enlisted 
March 31, 1867; re-enlisted (Co. H) March 31, 1870; re-enlisted Aug. 13, 1873; re- 
enlisted Aug. 13, 1878; re-enlisted Aug. 13, 1883. Retired frovi Active Service as 
Sergeant at Fort Missoula, M. T., May 8, 1885. Participated in 30 battles., War of the 
Rebellion, and numerous Indian affairs. ;/V««rt'ev/at " Antietam," 1862. Mentioned 
in Orders and awarded the U. S. I\Iedal of Honor and a Certificate 0/ Merit for con- 
spicuous gallantry at Plum Creek, Kansas, March, 1868. Sergeant Fegan was made 
{Dec. 6, xZ'i'z) the subject of a Special Message to Congress from the President of the 
United States. 




A MERITORIOUS CAMP FOLLOWER. 



Born at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., August 6, 1876. 
Died at Fort Brady, Michigati, March 5, 1886. 



u/^~^HUM" accompanied the 23d U.S. Infantry all 
V^^ through the Cheyenne expedition of '78. He 
marched with the regiment from Fort Leavenworth to Fort 
Supply, Indian Territory, in '79; thence he marched with 
Co. *' A," to the Cantonment on the Uncompahgre River, 
Colorado, thence to Fort Union, New Mexico. He also 
accompanied the troops from Fort Union to Richmond 
Post-Office, Arizona, in an expedition against the Apaches, 
known as the Gila Expedition of '82. During the expedi- 
tion the troops suffered severely from want of water. A 
detachment of Co. ''A" was sent to scout through the 
country to find pure water, but after travelling all day and 
all night without finding even any signs of it, they went 
into camp, and such was their suffering that they resolved 
to kill poor '^ Chum " for his blood. One of the detachment 
now (1886) stationed at Fort Brady, Mich., begged for 
" Chum's " life, and it was spared, providing water would be 
found within the next hour; and luckily enough it was the 
dog who led them to it. '' Chum " returned with the com- 

360 



A MERITORIOUS CAMP FOLLOWER. 



36: 



mand to Fort Union, and went with it to Fort Brady, in 
June, 1884. The command felt grieved over '' Chum's ' 
death, and tried to show their love for him by burying 
him with appropriate military honors, and erecting a neat 
headboard over his grave, near the Post Cemetery, 




" CHUM." 



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